By james art LAREDO, Texas (KGNS) – On a tour, we saw officers working with the Border Patrol to intercept individuals trying to enter the country and identify drivers with criminal records.
The Webb County Sheriff’s Office at Precinct 1 works overtime two weeks out of the month.
Lt. Jonathan Gonzalez is one of those deputies working in Operation Stone Garden.
Gonzalez patrols the west side of Laredo along the Rio Grande River.
The area was full of bush and business on one side and neighborhoods on the other.
Gonzalez said the streets around the area were used as escape routes to get to I-35 and head north into the country.
Gonzalez mentioned, “After the sun goes down, that’s when you see more activity.”
Law enforcement later saw a group of about 12 people from the Mexican side trying to cross.
Just a moment later, Gonzalez spotted a man who might be involved in helping the trafficker pick up the migrants.
Gonzalez raised a red flag to let his partners know there might be people crossing.
“I’m letting Border Patrol do its job. I’m looking for possible pickups.’
The team arrived at a location where agents were actively searching for individuals who had illegally crossed the river while Gonzalez exited the vehicle to look for hiding places.
When we got to the river, other agents picked up a family that included a 12-year-old boy and his parents.
According to Gonzalez, the family was from Guatemala and we were not allowed to speak to them.
The family was loaded into a Border Patrol van and sent to a processing center.
When the federal agency took control of the situation, Gonzalez was called to assist another deputy who had stopped a vehicle.
One officer checked the suspect and another searched for contraband.
The driver was eventually arrested on an outstanding warrant.
After a long night of patrolling, Gonzalez returned to the station to call it a night as he prepared to do it all again the next day.
At this time, it is still unknown from agents and deputies if the other nine people attempted to cross into the United States
Recently, US Congressman Henry Cuellar announced over $4 million for Operation Stone Garden for Webb County.
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