OAN’s Brooke Mallory
5:23 PM – Wednesday, March 20, 2024
Within 48 hours, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that five different efforts to smuggle people into the country were stopped at a single port of entry. ABC News.
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According to CBP, five human smuggling attempts were discovered over the weekend, from Friday morning to Sunday.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Field Operations (CBP) officers at the Del Rio Port of Entry, Texas, discovered the attempts less than 48 hours apart.
CBP officers stationed at the Del Rio International Bridge encountered a vehicle driven by an American national arriving from Mexico around 8 a.m. Friday morning and ordered all passengers inside to undergo secondary screening. This was the first attempted breach.
During testing and interrogation, it was discovered that the driver presented two U.S. passports, one for an adult female and one for a minor male. CBP said further investigation determined that neither passenger had proper immigration documents.
According to CBP, at approximately 3 a.m. Saturday, CBP officers encountered a second vehicle driven by a female American citizen arriving from Mexico, and the driver presented the adult female’s U.S. birth certificate. CBP officers determined it was necessary to conduct a secondary inspection, after which it was determined that the passenger was in fact a Mexican citizen and did not have valid documentation necessary to enter or travel to the United States.
The third attempted break-in occurred about an hour later, at 4 a.m. Saturday, when CBP officers encountered a vehicle driven by another woman who claimed to be a U.S. citizen arriving from Mexico. According to CBP, the driver presented two U.S. birth certificates to two adult male passengers who were posing as minors. However, CBP officials said after conducting a secondary inspection and interviewing each passenger, the immigration documents did not belong to them.
The fourth human smuggling attempt occurred more than 12 hours later, around 9 p.m. Saturday, when CBP officers encountered a vehicle driven by a Mexican national who was arriving from Mexico. Further examination of the documents revealed that the driver and his wife, who is also a Mexican national, had attempted to hide the adult male in the cargo compartment of the vehicle.
“The man was later identified as the adult son of a Mexican national without valid immigration documents,” CBP said.
The last incident at the Del Rio, Texas, port of entry occurred around 7 a.m. Sunday morning, when CBP officers encountered a vehicle driven by a U.S. resident traveling from Mexico. CBP said the driver showed the boy the woman’s U.S. birth certificate.
“CBP officers directed all occupants of the vehicle to undergo secondary screening,” CBP said. “Through interviews and inspections, CBP officers determine that minors are [actually] “Mexican nationals who do not have valid documentation to enter or travel to the United States.”
CBP officers detained the driver and impounded the vehicle.
“These five important events serve as a stark reminder that violations of U.S. immigration law can have serious legal and criminal consequences.” The skillset applied during this time is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the border security mission,” said Port Director Liliana Flores.
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