El Paso Sector Border Patrol Agents working in Southern New Mexico and West Texas have had a busy week that included disrupting multiple smuggling schemes and apprehending a Mexican national convicted of assault with a deadly weapon.
Agents working in Las Cruces, New Mexico, assisted New Mexico State Police Officers who had detained a white Dodge Durango on Sept. 26. Agents encountered nine migrants who were put in danger due to the lack of seat belts for all of the occupants. In total, there were eleven people in the vehicle. The driver and front passenger were identified as the principal smugglers and will be facing charges under 8 USC 1324, Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens and Transportation of Illegal Aliens. This event led to Las Cruces agents coordinating with agents from the Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Border Patrol Station, El Paso Sector Intelligence Unit and agents from Homeland Security Investigations, who then discovered an additional 32 migrants being held in a stash house in Canutillo, Texas. All migrants associated with these events were expelled under Title 42.
The El Paso Station Anti-Smuggling Unit (ASU) assisted El Paso Police Department Officers after they conducted a vehicle stop on Transmountain Road on Sept. 26. When the vehicle was encountered, it contained six occupants and the driver. After questioning by ASU agents, the six occupants were determined to be in the country illegally. During the investigation it was determined that the driver who is a Legal Alien Permanent Resident acted as the principal individual responsible for smuggling migrants illegally. The six migrants were expelled under Title 42. The driver will face charges under 8 USC 1324.
An anonymous caller provided information to the El Paso Station ASU who later encountered 13 migrants being held in a motel near North Mesa Street. This event occurred on Sept. 28 when an anonymous caller observed two vehicles drop off migrants at the motel. El Paso Station’s ASU discovered two rooms containing 13 migrants. Two of the migrants encountered are from Mexico and the other 11 are from Ecuador. All migrants were expelled under Title 42.
Border Patrol Agents assigned to the Deming, New Mexico, Station apprehended a Mexican national convicted of Assault with a Deadly Weapon out of California, on Sept. 28, 2021. The – two – individual was encountered in the area near Hachita, New Mexcio, after illegally entering the United States through the desert. The individual was booked into the Luna County Detention Center pending prosecution for 8 USC 1326, Re-entry of a removed alien.
“Our continual partnership with local, state and federal agencies has allowed for enhanced targeting of human smuggling activity,” said El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez “I am proud of the work we do together in order to disrupt Transnational Criminal Organizations who profit from the maltreatment of migrants.”