By james art 
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Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar announced the arrest of a Laredo man suspected of smuggling 52 migrants in three separate cases.
Salazar said at a press conference Saturday that Abelardo Herrera was arrested last week and is being held in Webb County.
“He is currently facing 10 counts of continuous human smuggling, 2 counts of continuous smuggling of persons under the age of 18, engaging in organized criminal activity – and federal migrant smuggling can also be enforced by our federal partners,” Salazar said.
Herrera was allegedly involved in a recent smuggling case in which 12 migrants were found at I-35 and Fischer Road, and another operation in which 24 migrants were found in a flatbed trailer last June.
San Antonio was included on a list of cities where immigration actions could potentially take place following President Trump’s executive actions in the first week of his presidency.
The media reports have sparked rumors among immigrant communities, but Salazar said his agency is not aware of any impending raids by federal authorities.
“Obviously we will cooperate with the law, but we also have to keep in mind that racial profiling is still illegal. No matter who the president is, we don’t just have carte blanche to tell first responders to go find people of color and arrest them. We still need to be aware of people’s civil rights,” he said.
Salazar said his department has limited authority to detain individuals based on their immigration status.
The Trump administration has not yet reached out to San Antonio police with deportation requests.