Immigration
Texas Border Patrol agents find over a dozen migrants concealed in hay bales
After inspecting the cargo, agents discovered 13 undocumented migrants being transported inside the hay bales
July 7, 2023 8:47am
Updated: July 7, 2023 8:47am
Border Patrol agents found more than a dozen migrants being smuggled into the country inside hay bales in Texas last weekend, according to a statement from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
On July 1, Laredo Border Patrol agents assigned to the Hebbronville Station stopped a pickup truck hauling a flatbed trailer with hay bales on top of it as it was approaching the primary inspection lane of the FM 1017 border checkpoint.
After inspecting the cargo, agents discovered 13 undocumented migrants being transported inside the hay bales.
The agents detained the migrants and took them to the Hebbronville Station for processing. The migrants were coming from Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala. They will be processed accordingly and returned to their home countries.
The Department of Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case. The driver of the pickup truck will be prosecuted for human smuggling.
This is one of the latest human smuggling schemes discovered by Border Patrol agents in recent months. In late June, Border Patrol agents in the Laredo Sector intercepted a human smuggling attempt using a portable barn to move people across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Agents stopped a pickup truck pulling a portable barn at the FM 1017 checkpoint. After conducting a search of the vehicle and its cargo, agents discovered more than 20 individuals hiding behind plywood in the ceiling of the portable barn.
The records checks conducted at the Hebbronville Station revealed that the migrants were coming from Mexico, Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
Earlier last month, U.S. Border Patrol agents and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers in west El Paso stopped a few fake FedEx vans that were used to smuggle migrants across the southern border.
After stopping several “suspicious” vehicles, border authorities identified three vans that were being used for smuggling. Inside the vans, there were 26 undocumented migrants from Mexico and Guatemala.
