U.S. Customs and Border Protection

EDINBURG (News Release) – Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) Border Patrol agents arrested 26 migrants from a northbound train, a tractor trailer, and a vehicle bailout over the weekend.

On October 15, Kingsville Border Patrol Station agents encountered 12 Illegal migrants hiding under a tarp on top of scrap steel inside an open top gondola train car near the Javier Vega Jr. Checkpoint. The migrants are nationals of Central and South America.

The following day, Harlingen Border Patrol Station agents responded to a request for assistance from the San Benito Police Department (SBPD) with six subjects they encountered after conducting a vehicle stop on a tractor trailer. Agents apprehended the migrants for being illegally present in the U.S. SBPD retained custody of the U.S. citizen driver to face state human smuggling charges.

Shortly after midnight on October 17, a Rio Grande City Border Patrol Station camera operator observed multiple subjects load into a vehicle and drive north from the Rio Grande near Garceno. Responding agents encountered the vehicle as it made a U-turn and head back south. The driver drove through a fence and came to a stop where the occupants bailed out. Agents searched the surrounding brush and apprehended seven subjects illegally present in the U.S. The migrants were evaluated and were uninjured. Additionally, agents seized a loaded handgun from between the driver seat and center console.