TERRELL COUNTY, Texas (NewsNation) — Members of an alleged Mexican cartel were recently arrested in Texas after bragging about their human smuggling operation in a video posted to YouTube.
Their brazen actions on social media led U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents and Terrell County sheriffs deputies to what they call a “lay-up spot” where migrants stop to rest after crossing into the U.S.
In the video, migrants can be seen getting into a smuggler’s SUV. After viewing the video, Texas authorities conducted an improvised sting. All they had to was park in the same place as the smugglers, honk the horn, and migrants showed up.
A typical year would produce about 1,000 “apprehensions” for Terrell County. Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland said their small county had at least 7,400 encounters last year.
“What activity (Texas authorities are able to) detect, we don’t have enough manpower to even chase that,” he said.
The cartels use smuggling guides to help usher undocumented individuals into the U.S. illegally. Most will not qualify for asylum and cannot self-surrender to border patrol agents over fears they will be turned back. Instead, they end up in the hands of transnational criminal organizations.
“They’re just making their entry here,” said Cleveland. “They’re looking to be smuggled all throughout the United States.”
Cleveland said he has reached back out to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s office for additional resources. Abbott’s new “border czar,” Mike Banks, is expected to assess the situation, according to Cleveland.