Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers discovered 23 illegal aliens concealed inside the sleeping compartment of a tractor-trailer during an Operation Lone Star traffic stop in La Salle County, according to a DPS statement.
The incident occurred on Friday, November 28, just after 5 p.m., when a DPS trooper pulled over a white Freightliner truck tractor for driving on an improved shoulder along Interstate 35. DPS said the driver — John David Amaya, 24, of Laredo — was operating the commercial vehicle without a commercial driver’s license.
With assistance from a U.S. Border Patrol K-9 unit, the trooper located 23 individuals hidden inside the truck’s sleeper compartment. According to DPS, the individuals were citizens of Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Mexico.
Amaya was arrested at the scene and charged with 23 counts of smuggling of persons, a state jail felony under Texas law. The individuals found in the vehicle were referred to U.S. Border Patrol for processing.
Under legislation signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in 2023, those convicted of smuggling of persons face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison.
Video of the traffic stop and arrest was released by DPS.
Context: Illegal Border Crossings Have Fallen Sharply Nationwide
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 8,400 attempted illegal border crossings in September 2025, an 84.4% decrease from a year earlier, according to USAFacts data.
Encounter levels peaked at 249,740 in December 2023 before declining throughout 2024. All nine southern border sectors recorded year-over-year drops in September 2025, with the steepest decline in the San Diego Sector.
As The Dallas Express previously reported, the Department of Homeland Security says more than 2 million unlawful migrants have left the country since President Donald Trump took office, including over 527,000 deportations and roughly 1.6 million voluntary departures.
