Border Patrol follows tips to illegal immigration busts in Alamo, Elsa

Border Patrol follows tips to illegal immigration busts in Alamo, Elsa
Posted: Monday, June 3, 2013 10:54 pm
The Monitor
Posted on June 3, 2013
by Elizabeth Findell
Anonymous tips led Border Patrol agents to two large groups of immigrants believed to be in the country illegally Monday in Alamo and Elsa, agency spokesman Henry Mendiola said.
Alamo police assisted the agency about noon in stopping an 18-wheeler that had pulled out of a parking lot near the Alamo Plaza Shopping Center.

“An anonymous caller called our office in Weslaco and reported some suspicious activity – perhaps people being loaded into the trailer,” Mendiola said. “We opened the back of the trailer and there were 21 people concealed.”
All of the occupants appeared to be healthy and were adults. They were taken to Border Patrol offices in Weslaco and the driver was arrested on suspicion of smuggling immigrants.
Meanwhile, a call at 12:34 p.m. reported that someone had seen people crossing the road into the brush near Westgate and Mile 14 North, south of Elsa, Mendiola said.
Agents who responded with the help of U.S. Customs and Border Protection air support rounded up a group of 40 people suspected of being in the country illegally and took them to Border Patrol offices in Weslaco.
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Elizabeth Findell
covers PSJA, the Mid-Valley and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at efindell@themonitor.com, (956) 683-4428 or on Twitter, @efindell.

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