Smugglers Lock Migrants in Multiple Cargo Trucks near Border in Texas
Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents found groups of migrants locked inside the cargo area of a U-Haul truck and two tractor-trailers. The migrants had no means of escape.
Eagle Pass South Station agents assigned to the Highway 57 immigration checkpoint near Eagle Pass, Texas, on March 3 stopped a U-Haul truck for an immigration check. Agents conducted a search of the truck’s cargo area and found several migrants packed inside, according to a tweet from Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Austin Skero.
Eagle Pass South Station agents stopped this truck Wednesday, discovering several illegal aliens trapped in the storage area. With no way to exit the vehicle and no seatbelts, the dangers of this smuggling attempt are clear. Luckily, no one was harmed during this attempt. pic.twitter.com/niLZu9usX1
— Chief Patrol Agent Austin Skero (@USBPChiefDRT) March 5, 2021
Chief Skero said there was no way for the migrants to exit the cargo area as the smugglers had secured the rear door. “Luckily, no one was harmed during this attempt,” he wrote.
Agents assigned to the Highway 77 immigration checkpoint on Friday observed a tractor-trailer approaching for inspection. The agents searched the trailer and found four Honduran migrants who had been lock inside.
“This is the second smuggling attempt of this nature in as many days,” Chief Skero reported. “The people hidden in the storage area were unable to move freely, did not have access to seatbelts, and were unable to exit the vehicle on their own accord. It’s easy to imagine many ways in which this smugging attempt could have turned disastrous.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s Sunday-morning talk show, What’s Your Point? Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Parler @BobPrice, and Facebook.
Clark: COVID Tourism Ban Chokes Texas Border Economies amid Migrant Surge
EAGLE PASS, Texas — Residents on both sides of the Mexican border with the U.S. have co-existed symbiotically for generations. Local economies rely heavily on legitimate crossover movement. The one-year anniversary of a pandemic ban on non-essential travel through land ports of entry has many business owners and community leaders feeling slighted by Washington. They feel a double standard exists between asylum seekers versus nonimmigrant border commuters.
In March 2020, temporary travel restrictions were put in place in by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The restrictions, nearly one year in effect, were based on a health recommendation issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The travel ban impacts those transiting by land from Mexico or Canada. This mostly impacts non-immigrant visa holders allowed to enter the United States as a tourist. Without additional approval, they can travel within 25 miles of the border but remain no longer than 72 hours.
To obtain the nonimmigrant visa, the applicant must show evidence of a residence in their home country that they do not intend to abandon. Many use the visa to shop in local stores and return same-day. Local businesses near ports of entry have relied on these steady customer bases for generations. In one town, streets once bustling with legitimate visitors from Mexico are nearly empty. Stores have shut down as the ban has lingered long past what most believed to be a temporary precaution. No community is immune from the trend.
Pedro, a local merchant in Eagle Pass, Texas, sells wares and secondhand items at a flea market. He now sees only a handful of buyers each day he opens his booth.
Breitbart Texas/Randy Clark
“It’s not fair that we have lost so much of our business–but others cross illegally and no one cares” he says, as he looks toward the International Bridge in Eagle Pass. The bridge–normally lined with pedestrians waiting to cross for commerce–is nearly empty.
In Spanish he adds, “The government may not think the travel is essential to come shopping, but to those that cross and us who sell, it is everything. We wear masks. They can too.”
Being on the border, most residents are aware of the issues related to COVID-19 struggles as communities are experiencing firsthand the crisis involving asylum seekers who enter illegally.
Breitbart Texas/Randy Clark
What they say they do not understand is the double standard applied to their cross-border customers. The Texas Border Coalition (TBC), an association of mayors, county judges, and economic development commissions made several attempts to see the ban lifted. In a June 2020 letter to Chad Wolf, then the Acting Homeland Security Secretary, Cameron County Judge and TBC Chairman Eddie Trevino Jr, wrote, “As the United States and state governments work toward easing stay-at-home restrictions, foreign travel suspensions limiting entry to the U.S. have not seen a similar easing.”
“We must protect minority-owned small businesses, cross border trade, and the influence of daily travelers between our countries who invest in binational commerce through the goods and services they acquire,” Trevino added. “The pandemic has put a halt to this critical exchange of business and has left border cities economically paralyzed.”
The plight and pleas of community leaders, border residents and business owners have thus far received little attention. The next expiration date for the ban is March 21, 2021.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas Sector.
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