EL PASO, Texas
(Border Report)
– An increased military presence at the border has not prevented smugglers from attempting to bring immigrants into the United States.
According to court documents, federal grand juries indicted a minimum of seven people this week for their involvement in four distinct smuggling operations near the edges of El Paso.
The incidents occurred from May 13 through May 18 – roughly two weeks following the establishment of the Fort Bliss National Defense Area by the Trump administration and approximately one month since the creation of the New Mexico National Defense Area, when troops equipped with armored vehicles were tasked with safeguarding these regions.
On May 18, agents from the U.S. Border Patrol based in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, received word from a surveillance operator about people crossing over the border wall. They also mentioned that both a white Chevrolet Tahoe and a red Dodge Ram were speeding towards the area close to where this happened in an attempt to transport those who crossed illegally through the desert.
Customs officers started monitoring the vehicles and stopped the Tahoe in Canutillo, Texas. When instructed to halt, the driver complied and introduced himself as Jesus Ortiz, stating he was a U.S. citizen. Both he and his two Mexican passengers were promptly arrested.
The Dodge Ram drove towards El Paso heading east and was instructed to halt by a Texas Department of Public Safety officer due to outdated registration tags. According to reports, the motorist chose not to comply and attempted to escape at top speed. As the vehicle collided with a kerb and a stationary automobile, it eventually came to a forced stop close to the junction of Gateway Boulevard East and San Marcial Street.
The American driver, Hector Quezada, along with four migrants, was taken into custody. According to reports, both Ortiz and Quezada reportedly confessed to receiving promises of $900 and $300 respectively from a smuggling group for each migrant they transported to an undisclosed meeting point not mentioned in official documents.
On Wednesday, both individuals were charged with the offense of transporting unauthorized immigrants.
Three days earlier, on the opposite end of the region, border agents in Clint, Texas, responded to an underground sensor activation 3 miles west of the Tornillo port of entry.
Five individuals who crossed the border fence attempted to hide within a pecan grove. They were picked up by a Ford Explorer, which then headed west toward Fabens, Texas.
Customs officers halted the Explorer on Alameda Avenue, detained the five immigrants, and placed U.S. citizen Ernesto Covarrubias and Tanya Joselyn de la Paz Nuñez, who holds a valid B1/B2 visa for Mexico, under arrest.
Records show Covarrubias said he received cellphone app messages from undisclosed parties on where to pick up the migrants and was instructed to drive them to a stash house.
On Wednesday, a grand jury charged Covarrubias and De la Paz with conspiracy and the transport of unauthorized immigrants for profit.
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