Smugglers tried to get creative in their efforts to move illegal migrants into the country past President Donald Trump’s sealed border.
In a recent case, Border Patrol agents in Eagle Pass, Texas, discovered a group of four illegal migrants whom smugglers had trapped in a water tank placed in the bed of a 2007 Ford F-150 pickup truck, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told The Daily Wire. The incident occurred on the evening of September 14 as agents were patrolling a rural highway.
“Smugglers don’t care for the safety of those they see as mere human cargo,” Border Patrol Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good said in a statement.
“Putting people in confined spaces with no means of escape is dangerous and barbaric. If not for the actions of our highly trained agents, this incident could have resulted in tragedy,” Good added.
The migrants had no way of escaping the small portable water tank, and the border agents had to use power tools to free them.
Two of the migrants were from Bolivia, one was from Cuba, and another from Colombia. The group declined medical attention and was taken into Border Patrol custody for processing.
The driver was identified as a 19-year-old American man. Border agents turned him over to Homeland Security Investigations to face a charge of alien smuggling.
Since his return to the White House, Trump has ushered in a series of policies, including ending the Biden administration’s catch-and-release of illegal border crossers, that have resulted in historically low border encounters.
Smugglers packed 31 illegal aliens like cargo into a modified utility truck and hauled them through dangerous desert heat near Ocotillo, California.🌵🥵#ElCentroSector agents took the group into custody after the driver abandoned them and fled into Mexico, apparently thinking… pic.twitter.com/w2iy7KJ490
— El Centro Sector Border Patrol (@USBPChiefELC) September 16, 2026
As a result, smugglers have sought more creative and often inhumane ways to move their customers across the border to keep their profits.
Border Patrol agents recently discovered “a modified utility truck” that smugglers filled with 31 illegal migrants. The driver fled the scene for Mexico, where Mexican authorities nabbed him.
In April, Border Patrol agents from across the country were pulled to assist their colleagues in Laredo, Texas, in handling an uptick in illegal immigrants trying to run from authorities, Department of Homeland Security sources told The Daily Wire at the time.
Smugglers have also loaded small boats with large groups of migrants in recent months in attempts to reach the coasts of California and Florida.
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