According to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office, authorities have foiled five separate attempts to smuggle humans within a span of less than 48 hours at a single port of entry into the United States.
Over the weekend, there were five separate alleged human smuggling attempts, beginning on Friday morning and continuing until Sunday. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations (CBP) officers at Del Rio Port of Entry in Texas successfully intercepted all five incidents within a span of less than two days.
At around 8 a.m. on Friday morning, CBP officers at the Del Rio International Bridge encountered a female United States citizen driving a passenger vehicle from Mexico. The officers referred all the passengers in the car for a secondary examination, marking the first attempted breach.
During the examination and interview process, it came to light that the driver had presented two U.S. passports for an adult female and a minor male. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that both passengers were citizens and nationals of Mexico and did not possess valid entry documents, as confirmed by CBP.
CBP officers encountered a female United States citizen driving a passenger vehicle arriving from Mexico. The driver presented a U.S. birth certificate for an adult female, according to CBP.
According to a statement from CBP, a CBP officer made the decision to conduct a secondary examination. This examination revealed that the passenger, who was a Mexican citizen, did not have valid documents to enter or travel to the U.S. CBP provided details of these five separate instances.
At 4 a.m. on Saturday morning, a female United States citizen driving a passenger vehicle from Mexico attempted to breach the border. When questioned by CBP officers, the driver presented two U.S. birth certificates for two adult male passengers who were posing as minors. This incident marked the third attempted breach.
After conducting a thorough investigation and conducting interviews, CBP officers found out that both individuals were Mexican citizens and the entry documents they presented did not belong to them.
Around 9 p.m. on Saturday evening, there was another human smuggling attempt. The driver, a male Mexican citizen, was driving a passenger vehicle from Mexico when CBP officers encountered him. After conducting a thorough investigation, it was revealed that the driver and his wife, who is also a Mexican citizen, were trying to conceal an adult male in the cargo area of the vehicle, according to CBP.
According to CBP, they later determined that the individual in question was their adult son, a citizen and national of Mexico, who did not possess any valid entry documents.
On Sunday morning around 7 a.m., CBP officers at the Del Rio Port of Entry in Texas had their last encounter. They came across a passenger vehicle driven by a female United States citizen who had just arrived from Mexico. The driver presented a U.S. birth certificate for a minor female, according to CBP.
According to CBP, a CBP officer directed all vehicle passengers to undergo a secondary examination. During the interview and examination, CBP officers uncovered that the minor attempting to breach was a Mexican citizen without any valid documents to enter or travel to the U.S.
A total of three U.S. citizen drivers and one Mexican citizen were arrested by CBP officers on suspicion of violating U.S. immigration law. Additionally, four vehicles were seized in connection with these alleged attempts to smuggle humans across the border.
Port Director Liliana Flores, from the Del Rio Port of Entry, emphasized that the occurrence of these five notable events serves as a powerful reminder of the severe legal and criminal consequences associated with violating U.S. immigration law. She further highlighted the exceptional expertise deployed in detecting and foiling these smuggling attempts, which further underscores their unwavering dedication to ensuring the security of the border.
