EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector Border Patrol agents disrupted three migrant smuggling attempts that resulted in 10 arrests. In one event, a mother and her son were rescued from the trunk of a vehicle at the Falfurrias Border Patrol (FLF) Checkpoint.
On Feb. 4, McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) received information of a green Ford Explorer picking up possible noncitizens near Mission. An MCS agent located the vehicle and conducted a vehicle stop. The driver and four passengers were all unlawfully present in the U.S. The migrants were nationals from Mexico and El Salvador. They were transported to the station to be processed accordingly.
On Feb. 5, agents working at the FLF Checkpoint referred a vehicle to the secondary inspection area following a canine alert. A woman and her four-year-old son were discovered concealed in the trunk of the vehicle. They were nationals of Mexico unlawfully in the U.S. and did not require medical treatment. The driver, a United States citizen and the two Mexican noncitizens were placed under arrest and escorted into the checkpoint. It was discovered that the mother and son had been traveling in the trunk for over an hour before reaching the checkpoint.
Later that evening, an RGV agent attempted to conduct a vehicle stop on a Dodge Charger near Encino. The vehicle failed to yield and led agents on a pursuit. The pursuit ended when the driver veered off the road, and agents observed multiple subjects flee into the brush. An El Salvadoran national was apprehended nearby. The driver was not located.