The news is repeated every day, up to three times before the end of the day. Vehicles loaded with undocumented migrants are pursued by patrols from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the so-called “troopers.”
Harassed by state law enforcement, the suspicious vehicles, which are usually located by DPS near the Mexican border, pick up speed and after a race that spans as far as Texas and New Mexico, end up crashing.
It is not unusual for there to be deaths or injuries. Neither do undocumented immigrants and drivers flee, who may be US citizens or legal residents, although in some cases “undocumented” migrants have been detected who say they are forced to carry out this activity due to threats from human trafficking gangs.
According to data released by DPS on Wednesday, high-speed pursuits along the Texas-Mexico border have tripled since December. As if that were not enough, an increase is anticipated in the coming months.
That month, DPS soldiers participated in 17 vehicle chases, mostly of suspected migrant smugglers. In February, soldiers chased down 51 vehicles, the highest number in at least 13 months.
“A lot of people stay away from calling it what it is, it’s cartel-driven, it’s money-driven, but they’ve got everything well organized, so we’ve got to step up our game,” said Eliot Torres, a DPS spokesman.
We had an average only in the morning, from two to three, and then several would go to New Mexico. Then we have some in the afternoon, not too many, but then at night it goes up again, we will have two or three,” Torres said.
This Wednesday exemplifies the growing activity of human traffickers who are persecuted with their loot by “troopers.”
Torres explains that the day began with a chase near the Executive Center – a street next to the border wall on the west side – and ended at Nobel. In this case, he pointed out that the migrants jumped from the vehicle and five of them escaped and four were overturned.
Also, on Wednesday near Mesa, there was another chase by the Texas DPS.
Torres explains that the chases end in a crash or in the use of spike strips to stop the vehicle, or people get out of the vehicle.
The DPS stats showing the number of chases and rescues were trending down, but are on the rise and higher than what we saw around this time last year.
One of the reasons why the persecutions have increased is due to the arrival in the El Paso region of more “troopers” due to Operation Lone Star, which was reinforced in December with the declaration of an emergency in El Paso.
“We have such a big problem here, that a lot of people didn’t know before, it was happening, but it wasn’t as hot as it is now,” Torres said.
A recent trend is the activities that lead the DPS “troopers” to New Mexico, since in their flight it is easy to enter the neighboring state through streets such as Paisano or Doniphan.
The Sunland Park Police Chief says the department does not track or investigate smuggling attempts.
“We respond to any calls for service as they come in to include trespassing, suspicious persons, or vehicles that may turn out to be migrant-related,” said Eric Lopez, Sunland Park Police Chief.
‘Crisis has gotten worse’
For Republican US Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose district stretches from western El Paso County to western San Antonio, the increase in high-speed chases is proof that the immigration crisis at the border is not over.
On a visit to El Paso, the congressman assures that things are going to get worse unless the Biden administration stops sending mixed messages abroad and starts working with Congress to discourage illegal immigration by enforcing the law.
“I represent 40 percent of the southern border. What I’m seeing in El Paso I see in other places and it’s dangerous. It’s only a matter of time before innocent Americans are sucked into this,” Gonzales said.
“Imagine driving to the store to buy eggs, or you’re picking up your kids from school, or you’re driving to work, and all of a sudden there’s a high-speed chase and you’re caught up in it,” Gonzales said. “This is real. People think it won’t happen to them. We know here in El Paso that tragedies can happen. We have to get ahead of it, we have to stop it.”
El Paso has recorded rollover injuries during pursuits of DPS and Border Patrol vehicles in the past year. A crash Monday night in Ozona, Texas, just an hour from the Mexican border, claimed the lives of two Texans and three suspected undocumented immigrants whose vehicle was fleeing authorities.
Last year, at least 30 people were reportedly killed in state police car chases related to the sweeping Texas border security operation, according to a complaint by civil rights groups.
Gonzales said smugglers, not first responders, are to blame for the accidents. “Lawlessness has caused these high-speed chases,” he said. “First responders are doing everything they can. But ultimately this is a federal problem, and it only stops when the president works with Congress to solve the problem.”
