Texas border mission results in nearly 130 arrests over five days, targets brush, smuggling guides
The operation was part of Operation Lone Star, a border mission launched by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authorities patrolling the southern border in an effort to curb record numbers of illegal immigrants entering the country said a recent days-long operation resulted in more than 120 apprehensions, including three Chinese citizens and smuggling guides.
Troopers with the Texas Department of Public Safety's Rio Grande Valley brush team and U.S. Border Patrol agents teamed up from Jan. 31 through Saturday to find human smugglers and illegal immigrants, authorities said Monday.
The brush team is a specialized unit that focuses on finding brush/smuggling guides, otherwise known as "coyotes," at the Rio Grande river that separates Mexico and the United States.
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A recent operation by Texas and border authorities resulted in nearly 130 arrests. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
"These are illegal immigrants from Mexico who smuggle other illegal immigrants across the river and then guide them through the brush so that they get picked up in a vehicle and smuggled further in the interior," a DPS statement said.
Authorities nabbed 129 people during the mission. In addition, eight brush and smuggling guides were identified and 3 more were arrested. Those arrested include three Chinese citizens as well as those taken into custody following a vehicle chase.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A suspected brush guide arrested by Texas and border authorities last week. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
The three guides are from Mexico and have "numerous apprehensions" by the Border Patrol for illegal entry into the U.S. but no prosecutions.
"Because (the) federal government will not prosecute," the statement said. "This allows these guides to keep bringing people across illegally with no consequences. This is a first for DPS to arrest these guides at the river and to provide further support to Border Patrol."
The mission was part of Operation Lone Star, a border security initiative launched by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Abbott has been especially aggressive about securing the border as a response to what he says has been the failure of the Biden administration to address the matter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An image of one of three suspected brush guides arrested by Texas and federal authorities in recent days in the Rio Grande Valley. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
In addition to addressing the record numbers of migrants, the mission was also launched to alleviate the pressure on border towns that have been forced to allocate resources for those coming into the country, illegally or not.
On Sunday, nearly two dozen migrants were caught during four separate traffic stops in Zavala County. Thirteen of the migrants were being smuggled in a pickup truck while wearing camouflage clothing, authorities said.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}There were 251,000 migrant encounters in December alone. Meanwhile, there have so far been over 300,000 "gotaways" – illegal immigrants who have evaded Border Patrol – this fiscal year so far, sources told Fox News this week.