Border Patrol Thwarts Human Smuggling Attempt at Checkpoint

The agents searched a trailer on May 9 and discovered 25 individuals attempting to enter the U.S.

• By Ralph C. Jensen
• May 13, 2020

Border Patrol agents thwarted a human smuggling attempt at the Border Patrol checkpoint on Interstate 35 (I-35), north of Laredo, Texas.

On May 9, during an immigration inspection, a service canine alerted handlers to the trailer. The incident occurred during the early afternoon hours of May 9, when a white tractor hauling a white trailer approached the I-35 checkpoint.

Agents searched the trailer and discovered 25 individuals, all illegally present in the United States from the country of Mexico. The people and the driver, a U.S. citizen, were taken into custody pending investigation. Both the tractor and trailer were seized by the Border Patrol at the Laredo Sector.

Despite the ongoing international COVID-19 pandemic, alien smugglers endanger the lives of individuals they transport and put at risk the health and safety of our nation. Border patrol agents strive to prevent the flow of illegal immigration and slow the spread of COVID-19.