Two U.S. citizens have been arrested in connection with smuggling migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border. The pursuit started in New Mexico, where U.S. Border Patrol agents spotted a silver Ford F-150 near some bushes on Sunday.
Several people quickly climbed into the truck, and the driver sped off toward El Paso, Texas. A Texas state trooper tried to stop the truck, but the driver continued driving, only stopping once they reached a corner in El Paso.
When the truck stopped, several people jumped out and ran. Border agents caught two individuals who admitted they were in the U.S. illegally. Agents also noticed a suspicious Nissan Pathfinder with three people in it, including a teenage boy wearing red sweatpants.
After further questioning, the adults in the Pathfinder said they were hired by a teenage smuggler to transport migrants. One of them, Gabriel Torres, admitted to helping the teenager smuggle migrants from New Mexico and waiting for him to pick them up after he was caught by law enforcement.
Torres and another man, Cesar Zepeda Guzman, are now facing charges for smuggling. The teen smuggler, who was also wearing red sweatpants, has not been caught yet.
In a separate case in Las Cruces, New Mexico, sheriff’s deputies investigating an eviction called Border Patrol after seeing a group of people run from a house.
Border agents arrived and found seven individuals in the U.S. illegally, while one person, Jesus Antonio Galan, was found to have a valid border crossing card. Galan admitted he was paid to transport migrants to the home in Las Cruces and was waiting for someone else to pick them up. He faces charges related to smuggling and is scheduled for a court hearing on December 9.