Wednesday, illegal immigrants jumped a 30-foot border wall and crossed two busy Texas roads before a 15-year-old was struck by a car while crossing a third.
David Herrera, who was driving the automobile that struck the youngster on Interstate 10 in El Paso, attempted to avoid the fleeing migrants by swerving. He then pulled over, unable to talk due to his trauma.
The child from Chiapas, Mexico, injured his leg in the accident and was transported to a local hospital by an emergency response team. The teen’s blood was splattered across the big dent on the driver’s side of Herrera’s grey GMC.
“There are sections of Texas where you have to be wary of hitting a deer,” observed an onlooker at the accident scene. Here in El Paso, we are concerned about running into those who have crossed the border.
The Post witnessed the aftermath of the accident during a predawn ride-along with the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), a state agency comprised of state troopers and the legendary Texas Rangers, who in the 1930s famously pursued fugitives Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, among others.
DPS agents in this border city, wearing tan cowboy hats and black boots, raid “stash houses” set up by human smugglers and narcotics traffickers who carry thousands of migrants and substances such as fentanyl, heroin, and methamphetamines across the southern border. Using its air support unit and even undercover agents, the Texas agency assists the federal Border Patrol in detecting groups of migrants who illegally cross the border.
Wednesday morning, DPS agents assisted the unidentified injured teen, who is a juvenile and therefore cannot be named. He was traveling with a small group of migrants that vaulted the foot-high border fence in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and then raced across three motorways, including the world’s biggest motorway, Interstate 10.
The border issue continues as the imminent expiration of Title 42 nears.
James Keivom
Alvaro de la Cruz, a 23-year-old farm laborer from Chiapas who was traveling with the youngster who was struck on Wednesday, stated, “This is our first time attempting to cross the border.” “We are simply trying to improve our lives.”
De la Cruz sat on the highway median, wearing dirty black shoes and a sweatshirt covered with grass from crawling through brush, awaiting to be processed by Border Patrol officials who had arrived at Marker 19, Interstate 10 East.
DPS officials were pursuing one of his traveling companions who had hurt his ankle and lost his shoes, according to surveillance from a DPS helicopter. This was in addition to handing up the other four migrants who had made the highway crossings to waiting Border Patrol authorities.
Robert Almonte, a former deputy chief of the El Paso Police Department who accompanied The Post on the DPS ride-along, said, “When you think about it, there are so many difficulties that these individuals must overcome.” It’s like encountering difficulties in a video game, but in real life.
Dozens of migrants who embark on risky crossings are involved in highway accidents. More than a dozen migrants were captured on camera jumping a border fence and fleeing into oncoming traffic on a busy Texas highway earlier this month.
In El Paso, where the mayor last week proclaimed a state of emergency, DPS agents have extended their shifts from 10 to 12 hours to combat the massive influx of thousands of migrants.
In this border city, DPS agents target “stash houses” set up by human smugglers and narcotics traffickers.
James Keivom
“My people work long shifts and holidays because they see it as part of their job to safeguard our state and country,” said Jose Sanchez, DPS Regional Director for the West Texas Region, who covers 36 counties covering more than 61,000 square miles.
Sanchez, a former narcotics investigator and Navy veteran, joined DPS in 1994. “Many are from El Paso, and they enjoy safeguarding their state and country, as the criminal organizations we pursue here pose a threat to the entire nation,” he continued.
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