Texas police arrested three US Army soldiers for allegedly conspiring to smuggle undocumented immigrants. According to the US Department of Justice, two soldiers stationed at Fort Cavazos in Texas traveled from the post to a village just north of the Mexican border last week to illegally transfer one Mexican person and two Guatemalan nationals. The scheme’s recruiter and facilitator was reportedly a third soldier.
On Tuesday, an Alpine, Texas, court charged Soldier Mendoza Lopez with bringing in and sheltering immigrants. On Thursday, the court expects Soldiers Angel Palma and Enrique Jauregui to appear for smuggling in and harboring aliens, and for assaulting a federal official after their car collided with a US Border Patrol vehicle, wounding the agent inside.
According to the United States Sentencing Commission, 70% of those who transported unauthorized immigrants into the country in 2023 were US citizens. Texas is the most active region for immigrant smuggling.
The announcement coincides with 47 days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Trump has promised “mass deportations” of unauthorized immigrants.