Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Sector continues to apprehend large numbers of illegal aliens, averaging nearly 1000 per day.
RGV Sector leads the nation in illegal alien apprehensions, the sector now accounts for nearly 50% of all arrest along the entire Southwest border.
Yesterday, RGV Sector agents arrested more than 1,300 subjects, which marks the second time in two weeks this number has been reached.
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A majority of these arrests are family units and unaccompanied children from Central and South America, which greatly impact the number of agents available to carry out the border security mission within the RGV Sector.
At the current rate, the Rio Grande Valley Sector is on pace to reach 240,000 apprehensions for this fiscal year.
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Yuma Sector Canine Team Halts Human Smuggling Attempt
Wellton Station agents arrested a United States citizen as he attempted to smuggle three illegal aliens through the Interstate 8 Immigration Checkpoint Wednesday.
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At approximately 3:35 p.m., a Border Patrol canine working at the primary inspection lane alerted to an odor it was trained to detect emitting from a beige 2016 Chevrolet Malibu.
Agents referred the vehicle to the secondary inspection area for further investigation, where they discovered three Mexican nationals unlawfully present in the United States hiding in the trunk with no means of escape.
The driver, a 43-year-old man from Buckeye was also found to be in possession of drug paraphernalia and a testable amount of methamphetamine.
The three male Mexican nationals, a 14-year-old, 34-year-old, and 48-year-old, admitted to illegally crossing into the United States near San Luis Tuesday.
The driver will be charged with alien smuggling, and the three illegal aliens will be processed for immigrations violations.
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U.S. Border Patrol canine teams are trained to detect both concealed people and the odors of narcotics.
Federal law allows agents to charge individuals by complaint, a method that allows the filing of criminal activity charges without inferring guilt.
An individual is presumed innocent unless and until competent evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The preceding is a press release from the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agency.
