3 weeks ago
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(NewsNation) — Mexican cartels are turning to teenagers to smuggle humans and drugs into the U.S. illegally, knowing they’re much hard to prosecute successful national courts. Now, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers are riding with agents to marque the arrests themselves and prosecute the teens successful authorities courts.
NewsNation’s Ali Bradley rode on with troopers erstwhile they recovered a 16-year-old smuggler from Mexico whom authorities had encountered 5 times. He was hiding successful a motortruck furniture aft moving 2 men into the U.S. illegally. The teen says helium was promised $220 to usher each antheral crossed the Rio Grande.
Agents accidental helium was combative, resisted arrest. Lt. Chris Olivarez with the Texas DPS said the teen's demeanor changed substantially erstwhile helium learned that helium would look charges this clip around.
“This peculiar 16-year-old has been caught much than 5 times, already, much than 5 times bringing radical across. But due to the fact that there's nary prosecution, there's nary consequences,” said Olivarez. “That's wherefore the cartels exploit that and usage that to their advantage. So present that we person authorities troopers paired up riding with Border Patrol agents, we tin really instrumentality that 16-year-old and complaint them with a felony for quality smuggling and instrumentality them to jailhouse and complaint them with a authorities crime.”
Once juveniles are apprehended and arrested by Texas DPS, they're held successful a juvenile detention installation portion their lawsuit is reviewed.
That could past up to 10 days. From there, they're sent to detention. It could beryllium for weeks oregon months, depending connected the judge. From there, they'll person an ICE detainer and volition beryllium returned to Mexico.
From there, they’re sent to a Mexican detention halfway for juveniles earlier being reunited with their parents.
