Corpus Christi Sun

This week, a bust by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency has resulted in the arrest of 13 people trying to enter the country illegally.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said, “Agents arrested 13 noncitizens from the Dominican Republic and El Salvador. During the pursuit, a DPS (Department of Public Safety) vehicle was struck by one of the fleeing vehicles. DPS took custody of both drivers and vehicles.”

A human smuggling attempt involving an airplane was recently foiled by the Texas DPS, according to Fox News. A DPS officer performed a ramp check on a Gulf Stream IV at 5 p.m. on Aug. 31, when he became suspicious that it was being used for human smuggling.

According to the Western Journal, the airport was the South Texas International Airport in Edinburg, Texas.

Maximo Diaz Jorge, who chartered the Gulf Stream, was contacted by the Texas DPS officer after suspecting foul play, according to Fox News. Upon request, the DPS officer requested identification, and all three suspects fled, driving off in cars with other people trying to enter the country illegally. Jorge told the officer the suspicious individuals were his employees, working at an oil company.

DPS troopers engaged in a high-speed chase with two vehicles after DPS troopers asked for assistance with the three fleeing suspects, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. At this point, both drivers were arrested, both vehicles were seized and 13 migrants from El Salvador and the Dominican Republic were arrested.

A total of 30 arrests were made in just two days by Border Patrol agents during Aug. 31 and Sept. 1. A majority of these arrests were related to the Edinburg Airport incident.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports that Border Patrol agents apprehended 1.95 million people at the Southern border in fiscal year 2022, October 2021 to September 2022, many of whom were involved in smuggling operations. Between October 2020 and September 2021, 1.73 million arrests were made along the Southern border, which exceeds last year's total of 1.73 million.

In a recent interview with the Austin Journal, Texas Public Policy Foundation Policy Scholar Selene Rodriguez said, “Human smuggling is the precursor of human trafficking. People who conspire with human smugglers to illegally enter the United States typically incur thousands of dollars in debt to make the trip. After entering the country illegally, these same people are often forced to pay off that debt through forced labor and sexual exploitation, which is the essence of the modern-day slavery that is human trafficking.”