U.S. Border Patrol (BP) Chief Michael Banks has had multiple stories to share this week with the American people on dangerous human smuggling operations that our officers fortunately stopped, resulting in key arrests.
While illegal aliens and cartels are not rushing toward the U.S. border in the massive floods we saw under the Biden-Harris administration, there are still aliens who try to enter our country illegally, and gangs trying to turn a profit off them. That keeps Border Patrol busy. The biggest difference between the Trump administration and the Biden administration is that now, the federal government encourages immigration officers to arrest criminals and undermine human smuggling, instead of helping the human smugglers traffic people into our country.
The most recent story is from Saturday afternoon, when Banks announced BP and Laredo police found 17 illegal aliens in a stash house. They included two juveniles from Mexico, 13 adult Mexicans, a Salvadoran, and a Nicaraguan. Border Patrol is planning to deport all of them.
17 PEOPLE RECOVERED FROM A STASH HOUSEđ¨
â Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) April 25, 2026
Working alongside the Laredo Police Department, USBP agents exposed a human smuggling operation at a residence near Laredo, TX discovering 17 illegal aliens.
âŞď¸ 13 Mexican nationals
âŞď¸ 1 Nicaraguan
âŞď¸ 1 Salvadoran
âŞď¸ 2 Mexican⌠pic.twitter.com/eXh4L1ysvL
As recently as April 24, Banks reported busting a human smuggler on Highway 35 in Texas, in another joint operation between Border Patrol and Laredo police. The smuggler was driving a semi truck and had no fewer than 22 people jammed into a sleeper cab. Among the 22 were two unaccompanied minors.
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The smuggler was a U.S. citizen â though it would be interesting to know how long he has been a citizen, and whether he was naturalized or given amnesty. In any case, the citizen smuggler had 19 Mexican adults, a Guatemalan, and two Mexican kids in the sleeper cab. "This is the grim reality of human smugglingâpeople crammed into unsafe spaces, with no regard for their safety. We continue to target, arrest, and prosecute human smugglers to the fullest extent of the law," Banks warned.
It seems U.S. citizens are too often involved in human smuggling, as for instance in this recent bust:
GANGSTA ARRESTED IN HUMAN SMUGGLING SCHEMEâ
â Chief Michael W. Banks (@USBPChief) April 20, 2026
A U.S. citizen with gang ties and an extensive criminal history tried to smuggle five illegal aliens through the Falfurrias USBP immigration checkpoint. After a K9 alert, agents found the illegal aliens hiding inside the sleeper area⌠pic.twitter.com/hrUS0uhVs7
A K9 alert led Border Patrol to find the illegal aliens in the semi truck. All five aliens are pending deportation.
On April 23, Banks announced the arrest of a human smuggler who was trying to get through a Border Patrol checkpoint in Laredo, Texas, with four illegal aliens in his sedan. Agents made the smuggler pull over at a gas station, and found that two aliens were in the back seat and two were lying on the ground. Authorities are charging the smuggler and working to deport the aliens.
This is exactly what I voted for.
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