251,000 migrant encounters in December alone on the Texas-Mexico border

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REYNOSA, TAMAULIPAS.- Authorities patrolling the southern border in an effort to curb record numbers of illegal immigrants entering the country said a recent days-long operation resulted in more than 120 apprehensions, including three Chinese citizens and smuggling guides.

Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Rio Grande Valley brush team and U.S. Border Patrol agents teamed up from Jan. 31 through Saturday to find human smugglers and illegal immigrants, authorities said on Monday, February 6th.

The brush team is a specialized unit that focuses on finding brush/smuggling guides, otherwise known as “Coyotes,” at the Rio Grande river that separates Mexico and the United States.

“These are illegal immigrants from Mexico who smuggle other illegal immigrants across the river and then guide them through the brush so that they get picked up in a vehicle and smuggled further in the interior,” a DPS statement said.

Authorities nabbed 129 people during the mission. In addition, eight brush and smuggling guides were identified and 3 more were arrested. Those arrested include three Chinese citizens as well as those taken into custody following a vehicle chase.

Texas and border authorities make arrests
A suspected brush guide was arrested by Texas and border authorities last week.

The three guides are from Mexico and have “numerous apprehensions” by the Border Patrol for illegal entry into the U.S. but no prosecutions.

“Because (the) federal government will not prosecute,” the statement said. “This allows these guides to keep bringing people across illegally with no consequences. This is a first for DPS to arrest these guides at the river and to provide further support to Border Patrol.”

An official report states that there were 251,000 migrant encounters in December alone. Meanwhile, there have so far been over 300,000 “got aways” – illegal immigrants who have evaded Border Patrol – this fiscal year so far.

Source: El Financiero

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