Texas DPS warns of human smugglers targeting kids on social media

Eagle Pass, Texas – Investigators say human smugglers are targeting teenagers on apps like Tik Tok and Instagram. They’re providing them cash to choose up migrants from Mexico. Migrants will cross over the Rio Grande from Mexico touring via non-public property to get to state highways. That’s the place teen drivers will decide up migrants serving to them journey to greater cities like San Antonio, Austin or Houston.  

Christopher Olivarez is a public information officer for the Texas Department of Public Safety. State troopers have elevated their presence serving to with border safety since Operation Lone Star went into impact over a yr in the past.

“The organizations are very smart, very strategic in how they recruit,” Oliveras mentioned about human smuggling criminals.  

“The smuggling organizations are starting to use and recruit juveniles through social media platforms. Tik Tok, Facebook, Twitter, even using WhatsApp for those encrypted messaging,” Oliveras mentioned. “There’s always been an issue with human smuggling. But what we’re seeing right now lately, which we have never seen in prior years is the use of juveniles. So, the smuggling organizations are starting to use and recruit juveniles through social media platforms.”

Oliveras mentioned criminals are strategic. 

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“They’re not coming out saying we need drivers for human smuggling or drivers for drug smuggling. I mean, they’ll typically just say we need drivers wanted and drivers needed, and they’ll show videos of stacks of money,” Oliveras mentioned. 

Texas state troopers monitor cameras and drones in search of migrants or human smugglers on non-public ranches in southwest Texas. This week troopers arrested a 13-year-old who they are saying was serving to smuggle migrants. Oliveras mentioned the individuals troopers encounter aren’t simply common asylum seekers. 

“These are illegal immigrants that are traversing these ranches, privately owned ranches without the consent of the owner. We’ve encountered criminal gang members and MS13 suspected cartel members,” Oliveras mentioned. 

Since Operation Lone Star was enacted over a yr in the past, Texas State Troopers are spending extra time on the border serving to border patrol and Texas National Guard members. 

The division of homeland safety arrested round 1,700 human smugglers in 2020 and over 2,300 in 2021. Police suppose it may very well be worse this yr.    

“Right here, we see a lot of human smuggling,” Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe mentioned. 

Kinney County contains 1,400 sq. miles, however solely 16 miles border Mexico. Coe mentioned they don’t function like a typical border group, however the inflow of migrants is beginning to affect the city of round 2,000 individuals. 

Coe mentioned in April 2021 they caught 15 human smugglers. This April? More than double that.  

“With narcotics, they tried to smuggle it in, and it gets caught. They’ve lost it. But with the human trade, they can just keep it as long as we keep sending back, they’re going to keep trying to smuggle them over,” Coe mentioned. 

Coe mentioned relying on the present prosecution temperature, smuggling organizations will change up who they use for human smuggler drivers. 

“If they’re 17 years old and we don’t have we can’t find a place to put them. We will book them in and PR bond them out, that way if they’re caught doing the same thing in a week or two, there’s record that they’re doing continuously which adds to the charge which adds to the sentencing,” Coe mentioned. 

When Texas State Patrol encounters migrants they will arrest them for trespassing on non-public property in the event that they discover them on any of these ranches. Border Patrol takes migrants to a processing facility that sends them again to Mexico and from there many of them flip proper again round and attempt to make the journey again via Texas once more, one thing very irritating to legislation enforcement right here. 

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Texas Department of Public Safety says it’s essential to warn kids of these social media schemes and educate them on the implications of human smuggling. Since Operation Lone Star they’ve revamped 14,000 arrests and over 12,000 of these are felony arrests.