Human smuggling remains a lucrative business. Despite fewer migrants being encountered along the southern border this week, human smuggling is getting worst.
A smuggler from the Mexican side was walking around a silver vehicle before 25 men began pouring out. The majority of the men were Brazilians and said that they did not have any family or friends in the U.S.
The smuggling is all planned, and one tactic used to test the waters is using “bait migrants”. A young woman and a child from Colombia crossed first. The men ran through the desert for 15 minutes after that.
It is not known if Border Patrol picked up the men. CBP reported 44,000 “getaway” migrants in just one month. Getaways are migrants who have been observed illegally crossing the border but not apprehended.
A pursuit in the Del Rio Sector between a human trafficker and Texas DPS ended in Uvalde County this month with people bailing from the vehicle to try to avoid law enforcement. Two of the men had methamphetamine hidden in their backpacks.
Del Rio Sector Head Jason Owens claims that the cartel makes $33 million per week from human smuggling.
CBP continues its warnings against using smugglers as a way to enter the U.S.
Owens stated that “Human Smuggling Organizations continue to be a threat to migrants who are trying to enter the United States illegally.” The tactics of transnational criminal groups are deadly and dangerous. Smugglers also charge exorbitant fees. “Noncitizens should pursue legal migration routes.”
At this time, lawmakers and law enforcement officials across the country say that every state is now a border state. Gov. Brad Little, the governor of Idaho, knows the impact the cartels have on the state.
The worst thing about this situation is that two cartels control the border from the Mexican side. “Any chaos at the border allows them to smuggle more drugs, people, contraband of any kind, and they make millions of dollars per year,” Little said.
Agents get caught in the middle of the cartels’ fight over the migration routes. CBP has confirmed two separate shootings in the San Diego area in a short period of time. Agents were tending to a 4-year-old injured boy on Monday when they heard gunfire. Agents reported gunfire from Mexico just a few days earlier.
Both incidents are under investigation
