A driver in Texas was taken into custody for smuggling migrants. He says that he was forced to transport them at gunpoint.
There has been an increase in smuggling and drug operations committed by illegal immigrants. Thus, Texas Governor Greg Abbott has deployed the Texas National Guard soldiers. He also sent the Texas Department of Public Safety personnel to fight the problem.
In 2023, there were 2.4 million migrant encounters that happened at the United States-Mexico border. This is up from about 1.7 million in relation to the year before.
The Senate Bill 4 provision is a Texas law that permits the state to enforce its own immigration guidelines. This is apart from the federal government’s, that usually does so. It would heighten the minimum sentence for migrant smugglers or people managing a holding house from 2 years to 10 years, for those who are found guilty.
On March 24, Luis Enrique Lara, a truck driver from Laredo, was taken into custody at a highway checkpoint. He was eventually charged with transport, attempting to transport, and conspiring to transport migrants.
Around 9:27 p.m., while he was stationed at an Interstate 35 checkpoint, a K-9 unit alerted law enforcement to possible contraband inside his white trailer.
Three migrants hiding under pillows inside the trailer were found. Lara had stated that he had just picked up the trailer. He said that he did not know that there were migrants or other people inside.
Lara told law enforcement officials that a month before this, he had been approached at a gas station in the city of Katy by someone named Luis. That person has possible connections to the suspect although it is not known. However, he supposedly held Lara and gunpoint and told him to follow his instructions.
On March 21, several people are said to have gone to his house and made Lara transport the migrants to San Antonio. He was told to drive his trailer to mile marker 13 of Interstate 35 at about 9 p.m. on March 24. There, he was later taken into custody.
The driver had added that he “had a feeling” that the migrants in the trailer were unlawfully in the U.S.
The future of immigration-based guidelines will depend on who wins the election in November. If Trump wins, it could mean legislation after he takes office.
