Border Patrol catches 40 illegal migrants stuffed into several vehicles
In one of the images, around 11 men can be seen lying down and stuffed into the back of a white-colored pickup truck
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Border Patrol agents at the southern border near El Paso, Texas, disrupted two human smuggling operations earlier this week with at least 40 illegal immigrants found crammed into several vehicles.
El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony "Scott" Good posted images on X Monday showing 24 illegal immigrants packed into at least two vehicles.
In one of the images, around 11 men can be seen lying down and stuffed into the back of a white-colored pickup truck. The men were covered with a tarp. In another image, several men and women can be seen jammed into the rear of another vehicle.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Border Patrol agents captured 40 illegal immigrants found crammed into several vehicles at the southern border near El Paso, Texas, earlier this week. (U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector)
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Good wrote that the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Anti-Smuggling Unit along with the Special Operations Detachment and the Texas Department of Public Safety teamed up to foil the smuggling operation.
"Teamwork [with] our law enforcement partners is key," Good wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}CBP told Fox News Digital that all 24 migrants were from Mexico and were removed under Title 8. The two smugglers were arrested and charged by the state for the smuggling scheme.
On Tuesday Good took to X again and posted another human smuggling bust with 16 migrants who were "dangerously crammed and transported in a small SUV."
"Smugglers transported these individuals with zero regard for their lives," Good wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Several men and women can be seen jammed into the rear of a vehicle during a human smuggling bust. (U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector)
In one of the images, the mostly male migrants are seen sitting on the concrete with their faces blocked out. Another image shows an empty mini-SUV crashed against another vehicle.
It is unclear if the migrants were detained or if anyone was arrested for the smuggling operation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The incidents came in the wake of the U.S. southern border seeing its highest rate of illegal migrant encounters last month, blowing away previous statistics.
Detained migrants sit on the concrete after a smuggling bust that found 16 migrants crammed and transported in a small SUV. (U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector)
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Sources with Customs and Border Protection told Fox News Digital that migrant encounters hit a staggering 300,000 incidents in the last month of 2023, reaching a level thought unimaginable just years ago.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Between Dec. 1 and 31, more than 302,000 migrants were documented attempting to cross the U.S. southern border.
It is the highest total for a single month ever recorded. It is also the first time migrant encounters have exceeded 300,000.
Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.