Texas sheriff tells Congress county ‘under siege’ as department shares migrant smuggling cases

A Texas sheriff told members of Congress his county is “under siege” by illegal aliens and smugglers going through the county, trying to get to destinations within the United States.

Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe testified before the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security at a field hearing on border security held in Pharr, Texas, last Wednesday. 

Coe said his deputies apprehended 741 human smugglers last year and filed over 3,000 felony cases against the smugglers. 

“That’s a huge increase from calendar year 2021, when we apprehended 169 human smugglers. We are currently on track right now to exceed 900 smugglers for the year,” Coe explained.   

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Meanwhile, his department is sharing some of the most high-profile cases they have been seeing on social media. 

Just one day before Coe’s testimony, a man was caught smuggling a mother and two children inside a trunk. 

“What may have become a high-speed-pursuit came to an abrupt end after a driver hit a deer on RR 674,” a department Facebook post reads. 

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The driver was identified as Devin Klein Shawn from Houston, and the two children were ages 7 and 2. 

The night after Coe’s testimony deputies busted a driver in an “eye-catching red Corvette” that was attempting to decoy for a load of illegal immigrants in a Ford Fusion. The two drivers were observed “working in tandem,” according to a Facebook post, with their pickup taking place in the city of Bracketville. The cars were pulled over on RR 334, and drivers Jesse Alvarez III, of Floresville and Nestor Adorno Salgado of San Antonio were arrested. They are both facing three counts of smuggling. 

The day following Coe’s testimony, Texas Department of Public Safety troopers pulled over a rental van on Highway 90 headed for Uvalde. Fifteen illegal aliens were found inside. 

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“Presumably, the driver was going to let them out and have them hike their way around the checkpoint before getting there,” a subsequent Facebook post reads.