The Texas Department of Public Safety recently arrested 57 illegal aliens for criminal trespass in the Normandy area of Maverick County.
According to DPS spokesman Chris Olivarez, the arrests took place during a 24-hour window between May 21 and May 22.
Members of the group consisted of 42 males and 15 females in total. They originated from Cuba, Columbia, Peru, Honduras, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua and were all subsequently transported and incarcerated at the Val Verde Processing Center. They are reportedly facing criminal trespass charges.
This comes as illegal border crossings in Maverick County have increased, and DPS continues to apprehend small groups of illegal aliens.
Human smugglers have also started using guerrilla-style tactics of transporting illegal aliens across the border. For example, a DPS drone captured footage of a smuggling guide leading a group of aliens across the Rio Grande with a ladder carried via raft.
The smuggling guide, just 16 years old, was arrested. Five illegal aliens from Mexico were also apprehended.
Senate Bill 4, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott last year, criminalizes illegal entry into Texas and empowers law enforcement to arrest and deport illegal aliens. However, it is currently bogged down in the courts, beginning with a lawsuit from the Biden administration in January that asserted the bill was “clearly unconstitutional.”
While the law is embroiled in legal obstacles, the Dallas City Council is considering a resolution to condemn it. According to the resolution, enforcing SB 4 would strain law enforcement resources and negatively impact community relationships. “The City of Dallas serves residents on a daily basis to deliver public services, and requesting or investigating immigration status during those interactions is a federal matter outside the city’s jurisdiction,” it reads.
However, SB 4 House sponsor and State Rep. David Spiller (R-Jacksboro) argued that the new rule is not an immigration law but rather a criminal trespass law.
“That’s generally the only tool,” he told Fox 4 News last year. “Unless an officer sees something more serious as an undue advance to something of a felony or something else. Generally, the only tool that they have now is to prosecute people under criminal trespass.”
