New Operation Cracks Down On Human, Drug Smugglers

by Martin Bartlett

EL PASO — “Operation No-Pass” has raised the stakes for illegal border crossers as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents look to cut back on human and drug smuggling along the border.

As a result of the operation, any illegal crossers caught along the border between the Paso del Norte Bridge and Mount Cristo Rey will be arrested and formally deported.

Officials say this new process is different because if someone is caught coming into the country following their first arrest, they will face felony charges.

Before the operation went into effect, most illegal crossers who did not have a criminal record were deported without serious consequence. Officials say they were processed and figerprinted but would not be arrested and charged upon re-entrance.

“We have adequate detention space, and we also have other agencies that are able to help if it comes to that – so it’s looking good, we’re prepared to make this operation indefinite,” said Doug Mosier, a spokesman for the Border Patrol.

Mosiersaid the El Paso sector is fast becoming a route for smugglers from Mexico.

“These smugglers become more desperate as we start to control the border and interrupt their patterns,” said a Border Patrol agent.

Monday, CBP officials released night-vision video taped by Border Patrol cameras Saturday night. The video shows drug smugglers slipping through the border fence with a drug load. A truck on the American side of the border drives up and the men load up the drugs into the bed of the truck.

“It’s not the largest load, but it does exemplify how quickly they can smuggle narcotics,” said a Border Patrol agent.

Officials say similar operations have been successful in the Del Rio, TX and Deming, NM areas.