An ABC News crew on Monday ran into a human smuggler when touring a common route used by smugglers along the U.S.-Mexican border.
While the crew was walking along the path with U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent Robert Rodriguez, he realized they had come across a human smuggler.
“Look, there’s a smuggler!” Rodriguez said as he ran after the man on a small dirt trail on the northern bank of the Rio Grande near McAllen, Texas.
The man was able to evade capture by jumping into an inflatable raft and going south, Rodriguez said that he was no longer able to go after him.
“I cannot go in the river to apprehend him,” Rodriguez said. “As long as he goes back south, I’m all right.”
“Look, there’s a smuggler.”@TomLlamasABC was embedded with a Customs and Border Protection agent when they discovered an alleged smuggler along the Mexico border in an inflatable raft on the Rio Grande. https://t.co/YGbEYLN3jF pic.twitter.com/M7CSHBxhBi
— ABC News (@ABC) June 26, 2018
Even though the Trump administration implemented a zero tolerance policy and has been cracking down on illegal immigration at the southern border, families still risk the journey by trusting these human smugglers to get them across the Rio Grande, according to ABC News.
[Also read: Top border official expects slight downturn in apprehensions in June following a turbulent spring]
