Migrants dressed as construction workers seen illegally crossing the border into El Paso
Heriberto Perez Lara
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) — A video circulating on social media shows two migrants crossing the Rio Grande dressed as construction workers, along with three suspected human smugglers; this reportedly occurred on January 9.
Once they crossed the river, they were seen walking toward the levee and then heading to one of the border wall gates to illegally cross into El Paso.
According to the El Paso Sector Border Patrol, the migrants, one Mexican and one Ecuadorian, were arrested immediately after crossing through the border wall gate located in the Old Fort Bliss area, in West El Paso.
“Yeah, believe it or not, this situation has happened in the past as well. There are multiple criminal organizations that do this to gain illegal access to the United States between ports of entry, said Agent Claudio Herrera. “We have seen this type of situation often. Criminal organizations tend to tell the migrants how, when, and where they can cross the border illegally, and they are the ones who charge them thousands of dollars just to put their lives at risk in these situations. Of course, they’re going to face consequences. They’re going to be processed accordingly, and they’re going to be removed.”
Border Patrol also says these transnational criminal organizations often use these types of videos to lie to migrants and prove they are still operating, still crossing people illegally, and to offer their services at the border.
“Criminals are criminals, right? They disregard the lives of the people they’re smuggling into the country illegally. They don’t care about them. They charge whatever amount of money they can think of. And migrants are willing to pay these smugglers, sell their properties, sell everything they have, even borrow money from friends, family, whoever they can borrow from, just to get into the United States,” said Agent Herrera. “The reality is they will only place them in a stash house in Ciudad Juárez or any other city along the border. They will lie to them. They will treat them horribly. They will provide them with a lack of food, a lack of water.”
“It is important to let the people and the community know that we’re working for the benefit of our country, we’re protecting our borders, and we’re taking this job very, very seriously,” he added.
Agent Herrera also says that as the federal government continues construction of the border wall, it is important to be aware that this does not mean migrants can cross the border illegally. He says they tend to believe that because they’re working in those areas, there is no law enforcement presence there.
“The reality is that we even have people in the construction areas 24/7 just protecting our borders,” Agent Herrera added. “Let’s make that clear, right? We have eyes everywhere. We have technology. We have different assets that we can move where they need to be to arrest and apprehend these individuals.”
He added that partnerships the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Border Patrol have with the Department of War, the state of Texas, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office help them impose serious consequences on those people entering the country illegally through the construction sites.