Heat wave expected to heighten illicit border activity

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials are anticipating forecasted record heat will heighten illicit border activity along the Rio Grande Valley.

CBP officials said the Rio Grande Valley has experienced a 67 percent increase in the disruption of stash houses and a 33 percent rise in the number of tractor trailer smuggling cases when comparing fiscal year to date 2017 to 2018. Those increases, combined with the rising temperatures, create a potentially deadly situation as smugglers continue to utilize desperate tactics that endanger immigrants’ lives.

“The Rio Grande Valley Sector has recorded 57 deaths for fiscal year 2018, and the summer months are looming,” Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla, Jr. said. “The victims in human smuggling will always be the immigrants; smugglers see them as a commodity.”

Officials noted recently that the Falfurrias Border Patrol Station was contacted by the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office regarding a 911 caller who was lost in the brush. Agents responded to the call and located a Guatemalan national, abandoned by smugglers, who was then transported to a local hospital to be treated for heat-related injuries.

CBP officials are encouraging the public to take a stand against crime in their communities and help save lives by reporting suspicious activity at 800-863-9382.