The Texas Department of Public Safety released video Tuesday of a May 18 traffic stop in Webb County where a state trooper discovered 20 illegal aliens crammed inside the sleeper cab and trailer of a semi-truck in what authorities described as a human smuggling attempt.
The footage shows a white Volvo semi pulled over on a rural road near the Texas-Mexico border. As officers approach, the driver opens the cab door, descends, and runs. He crosses a set of train tracks before troopers catch him.
DPS identified the driver as Miguel Angel Velazquez Chavez, 25, a Mexican national. He was charged with evading arrest and smuggling of persons and booked into the Webb County Jail.
When officers pulled back the curtain to the sleeper cab, they found multiple people packed into the small space. Twenty illegal aliens in total were discovered in the vehicle, including four minors. They were from Mexico and Guatemala, according to DPS. All 20 were transferred to U.S. Border Patrol.
The stop is part of a broader pattern documented by federal officials. In April, the Department of Homeland Security reported that illegal alien releases at the border had reached zero for 11 consecutive months.
“Eleven straight months of ZERO releases at the border,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement at the time. “Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we are delivering the most secure border in American history. The world knows America’s borders are closed to lawbreakers.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott credited the results to coordinated federal enforcement. “America First policies, real consequences, and a unified federal effort — backed by personnel, infrastructure, and technology — are how we’ve delivered the most secure border in U.S. history,” Scott said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, we’re building on what works, refining our approach, and locking in real border security. This isn’t temporary — it’s the new normal.”
CBP said illegal crossings have fallen sharply since Trump returned to office. The agency is apprehending fewer than 9,000 people per month, compared to numbers that routinely exceeded 200,000 per month during the Biden administration.
