EL PASO, TX – Illegal foreign nationals continue to be arrested and prosecuted for a range of crimes in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection El Paso Sector, which includes all of New Mexico and two west Texas counties. Crimes include those committed against Border Patrol agents.
In one case, a Mexican national was charged with allegedly attempting to bribe a Border Patrol agent after he was apprehended for illegal re-entry into the U.S. this month. After being apprehended and transported to the Santa Teresa Border Patrol Station, he asked, “Can we fix this?” and offered $400 for the agent to release him, according to the complaint. He also allegedly regularly guided foreign nationals illegally into the U.S. from Mexico. He remains in custody pending trial. If convicted, he faces 20 years in prison.
In another case, a Salvadoran national was sentenced to one year in prison for biting a Border Patrol agent. Last May, when Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of five illegal border crossers and attempted to take them into custody, a woman refused to enter the agent’s vehicle and grabbed onto the border wall resisting arrest.
When agents tried to physically separate her from it, “she bit down hard on the agent’s forearm, causing bruising, swelling, and abrasions,” and “continued her aggressive behavior, attempting to bite the agent’s leg and kicking them,” according to the complaint.
In another case, a Mexican national illegally in the U.S. faces charges of possessing a stolen firearm found during a traffic stop last month on Interstate 25 in Sandoval County. He remains in custody pending trial. If convicted, he faces 15 years in prison.
In another case, a Mexican national faces federal human smuggling charges after he was arrested last month by Border Patrol agents for attempting to smuggle juveniles from El Paso to Albuquerque. He admitted to illegally entering the U.S. last December when he was apprehended driving on New Mexico State Road 26, a road known to law enforcement for smuggling, according to the complaint. He remains in custody pending trial and faces 10 years in prison if convicted.
In the last few weeks, Santa Teresa Border Patrol agents continued to apprehend illegal border crossers. The region is the busiest in New Mexico, located a few miles west of El Paso. They apprehended a convicted sex offender with a felony record for attempted sexual assault against a child under 14 who now faces criminal charges and removal.
On Feb. 18, El Paso Sector Chief Walter Slosar announced that Santa Teresa Border Patrol agents stopped a fleeing vehicle whose driver was attempting to smuggle five illegal border crossers into the U.S. The driver will be prosecuted for human smuggling; those being smuggled will be removed from the U.S., he said.
On Feb. 19, he also announced that Santa Teresa Border Patrol agents arrested two smugglers after they fled in a UTV and resisted arrest. A third illegal foreign national was arrested after attempting to intervene. Border Patrol agents seized the UTV and all five were apprehended and processed for removal. Charges were also sought through the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
In Ysleta, Texas, Border Patrol agents intercepted a group of foreign nationals using power tools to breach storm drains as a way to illegally enter the U.S. The alleged smuggler and those being smuggled were apprehended and face criminal charges for illegal entry and alien smuggling and will be removed from the U.S., Slosar said.
In a separate multi-agency operation working with the National Guard and FBI, Border Patrol agents arrested five illegal border crossers hiding in a residential backyard. “All of them will be removed to their country of origin,” Slosar said.
In another joint operation involving BORTAC, the Doña Ana Sheriff’s Office, Homeland Security Investigations El Paso and Las Cruces Border Patrol agents, three illegal foreign nationals were apprehended, an alleged smuggler is being prosecuted, the others are being processed for removal, he said.
On Feb. 18, Slosar announced that El Paso Sector’s Foreign Operations Branch worked with Mexican law enforcement officers to disrupt a smuggling event. Three smugglers were arrested and charged by the Mexican government after attempting to smuggle Guatemalans into the U.S. from Mexico.
The El Paso region saw increased traffic under the Biden administration and after Texas border security efforts expanded under its first and former border czar, Mike Banks. Banks at the time was a retired Border Patrol supervisor who implemented a Border Patrol PDI strategy” (position, deter and interdict) in Texas that forced illegal entry west into New Mexico, Arizona and California, The Center Square first reported.
Banks came out of federal retirement to become President Donald Trump’s new Border Patrol chief.
