Federal law‑enforcement officials discovered 53 migrants crammed along both sides of a semi‑truck trailer during a traffic stop near El Paso last week, prompting alien‑smuggling charges against three men. The bust underscores the Trump administration’s continued focus on securing the nation’s southern border.
According to the Department of Justice, the investigation began on Oct. 28 when Horizon Police Department officers pulled over a semi‑truck driven by U.S. citizen Miguel Angel Debruhl. Border Patrol agents searched Debruhl’s vehicle and found a backpack filled with a large number of cell phones, leading to his arrest and alien‑smuggling charge.
In a separate stop, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper inspected a second semi‑truck, where agents say they found the 53 migrants sitting along the trailer. Fox San Antonio reported that the second truck was driven by Alan Montelongo, who allegedly agreed to an inspection of the cab and trailer. A criminal complaint cited by the DOJ states that troopers discovered the migrants during that search.
Montelongo is accused of transporting the migrants through the I‑25 Border Patrol checkpoint in Las Cruces for roughly $16,000, a sum he was to split with Debruhl, according to Fox San Antonio. A third defendant, Abel Delval‑Dominguez, described by the DOJ as a Mexican national residing in the United States without legal status, was also arrested and charged with alien smuggling. All three defendants—two U.S. citizens and one Mexican national—were taken into custody in a joint law‑enforcement operation.
Border Patrol agents continued surveillance at a suspected stash house linked to the case. KVIA reported that Delval‑Dominguez was seen loading groceries and several full black trash bags into a pickup truck, and that agents had previously observed him and the same pickup moving migrants between the stash house and the truck yard.
The case adds to a recent string of smuggling busts across the region. Just days earlier, agents in Las Cruces uncovered 42 migrants, including three unaccompanied minors, inside a tractor‑trailer, according to KVIA. Federal prosecutors noted that this case is among more than 235 new federal immigration cases filed across the Western District of Texas, reflecting a broader enforcement push.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that El Paso Sector agents disrupted 24 tractor‑trailer smuggling events and found 387 migrants during fiscal year 2024, illustrating the scale of the challenge and the importance of continued vigilance.
What’s next: The three defendants remain in federal custody and will face arraignment in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. Prosecutors have indicated that the case will proceed through the federal system, with sentencing to be determined if convictions are secured.
Sources: hoodline.com, hoodline.com, hoodline.com
