Three people were arrested last month for attempting to transport smuggled unlawful migrants into the United States interior by air and bypassing Border Patrol checkpoints, according to court records.
The arrests were a result of a joint operation with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) Criminal Investigations Division (CID).
On September 25 at around 11 a.m., a DPS CID special agent with Operation Lone Star reportedly observed the arrival of several vehicles at the Mid Valley Airport in Weslaco, Texas. The vehicles dropped off seven individuals, who then boarded a Ratheron plane.
The special agent and HSI agents conducted a ramp check and identified six unlawful migrants and one female U.S. citizen, identified as Desiree Love Rodarte, 21, of Weslaco, TX. Rodarte was allegedly coordinating the human smuggling attempt to Houston.
The Hidalgo County Constables Office Precinct 1 assisted agents in halting the two involved vehicles. The drivers, identified as Luis Armando Lopez-Alvarado, 29, of Pharr, and James Martinez, 24, of McAllen, along with Rodarte, were arrested and charged with human smuggling and human smuggling conspiracy.
Martinez and Lopez reportedly declined to give agents any statement. Rodarte allegedly told agents that she had arranged to transport the unlawful migrants to the U.S. interior.
The six unlawful migrants, four males and two females from El Salvador and Mexico, were allegedly in possession of fraudulent Texas identification cards. They were referred to the U.S. Border Patrol.
Further investigation led the DPS to claim that one of the apprehended unlawful migrants, Ivan Flores-Rivas, 38, of Mexico, was a “previously deported felon who was wanted in Wisconsin for sexual assault of a child.”
CID and HSI are continuing to investigate the situation.
Unlawful migration has reached an all-time high in recent years, according to numbers from Customs and Border Patrol.
In 2022, the number of migrants exceeded 2 million people for the first time, as reported by The Dallas Express.
Since the inauguration of President Joe Biden and the subsequent shifts in immigration policy, roughly 4.9 million people have sought to cross the southern border, including an estimated 900,000 who evaded detection.
To date, 33 counties in Texas have declared that the unlawful migrant surge constitutes an invasion, and Gov. Greg Abbott has allocated $4 billion in resources to try and secure the border in lieu of federal action.
His landmark effort, Operation Lone Star, is a joint mission between the Texas DPS and Texas Military Department that attempts to counter unlawful migration and the illegal drug trade.
