Cartels boast on TikTok how they make millions smuggling migrants across border

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Cartels are openly bragging on TikTok about how they make millions of dollars from a migrant border smuggling operation across the Texas border while evading law enforcement, according to three videos obtained by the Washington Examiner.

The Texas Department of Public Safety, which shared the promotional videos, is continuing to battle the social media recruitment of young U.S. drivers to bring noncitizens illegally into the United States.

TEENAGE BORDER SMUGGLERS RECRUITED ON TIK TOK ARE A CARTEL FAVORITE

“Videos encouraging others to participate in human smuggling across the Southern border are highly concerning,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is investigating TikTok, said. “With the issuance of Civil Investigative Demands, my office is currently combing through TikTok company policies and getting to the bottom of what is happening in these social media posts.”

The first video shows millions of dollars stacked on a table along with a currency counting machine. It is set against the backdrop of a Spanish language song with the subtitles “DRIVERS ASAP.” A second is similar and says, “Truck drivers needed [Rio Grande Valley] area!! Comment and add me to start working,” and “DM to make some racks.”

A third features a Spanish rap song and shows a driver heading down a freeway with several people stuffed into the back of his car, which has the seats removed. TikTok placed a disclaimer on the video that reads, “The actions in this video could result in serious injury or adverse health effects.”

The number of migrants encountered attempting to enter the U.S. illegally from Mexico rose in April, surpassing all previous records over the past century, an indication of the scale of the illegal immigration crisis at the border.

U.S. border officials intercepted 234,088 migrants attempting to enter the country illegally in April, according to a federal court document obtained by the Washington Examiner. In the first 15 full months of President Joe Biden’s term in office, federal law enforcement officials at the southern border have stopped more than 2.75 million people attempting to cross into the U.S. illegally.

Sheriff Brad Coe of rural Kinney County, which is on the border, has encountered his fair share of social media foot soldiers.

“The ad will say, ‘Anyone looking to make easy money, contact us,’” Coe said. “Cartels will say, ‘Go to south Texas to pick up some people. We’ll give you $1,000 a head.’”

Other apps are also used to communicate with smugglers, such as WhatsApp, Twitter, and Facebook. Coe has arrested children aged 14-16 participating in this scheme, with some living as far away as Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

“We’ve had kids from broken homes with mom working two jobs and dads in jail. The lure of easy money is what does it,” Coe said. “They get anywhere from $500 to $2,000 a head. The cartels will give them an address and say, ‘Pull up here and honk your horn twice.’”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

Texas makes up 1,250 miles of the 2,000-mile southern border. More than half of the 800,000 people apprehended trying to enter the U.S. illegally from Mexico between ports of entry from the start of fiscal 2022 last October through March were stopped at the Texas border.

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