Agents are worried about a new trend they're seeing on the southern border.
As if the never-ending surge of illegal immigrants wasn't enough, law enforcement has another problem. A steady rise in migrant men with criminal records. They're not always alone. Some are with women and children. That situation often forces border patrol to split up the family and deport the criminal. Ildefonso Ortiz, with Breitbart Texas, says the Mexican drug cartels are the ones fueling the border crisis. He says they make money lying to migrants.
“The cartel tells them ‘Come through us. It will cost you x amount of dollars. And then we will get you papers.’ And that’s how they’re selling this idea to the migrants,” Ortiz said.
He estimates the cartels typically make $500 to $800 per illegal immigrant they're able to smuggle into the U.S.
“So, for example, the Gulf Cartel, which is directly south of McAllen and the Brownsville area, they’re currently making more money from the smuggling of migrants than they are from drugs. Because there’s no risk to them. Mexican authorities will not prosecute them if they catch them with a group of migrants in Mexico,” Ortiz explained.
The illegal immigrants’ criminal convictions range from assault and burglary to possession of illegal drugs. Last year in the El Paso sector, more than 800 convicted criminals were captured trying to sneak across the border.