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A traffic stop and chaotic chase involving Texas state troopers and suspected human smugglers led to the discovery of nearly two dozen illegal immigrants, including several minors, in the back of a semitruck near the U.S. southern border.
In a video posted by Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez, a suspected human smuggler is seen jumping out of a Volvo semitruck and running as troopers chase him down. The incident occurred after a state trooper conducted a traffic stop Monday evening in Webb County, South Texas.
Olivarez said that the driver attempted to flee on foot but was “immediately arrested” by Texas officials. A search of the semitruck revealed 20 illegal immigrants concealed in the truck’s sleeping area.
The video shows troopers pulling back the truck cabin’s curtain to find the illegal immigrants crammed inside. The immigrants remained silent, only nodding as troopers questioned them. Four minors from Mexico and Guatemala were among the group, according to DPS.
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Illegal aliens are discovered hiding in the bed cab of semi truck in an attempted smuggling on May 18, 2026. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
According to Olivarez, the driver was Miguel Angel Velazquez Chavez, a 25-year-old Mexican national. He was charged with evading arrest and smuggling persons and booked into the Webb County Jail.
Meanwhile, the 20 illegal immigrants, including the four minors, were referred to U.S. Border Patrol. The DPS Criminal Investigations Division is continuing to investigate the case.
This comes as Texas officials have continued to respond to human smuggling incidents despite dramatically reduced attempted border crossing numbers under President Donald Trump.
State troopers and the Texas Department of public safety pulled over a tractor trailer smuggling 20 illegal aliens into the U.S. on May 18, 2026. (Texas Department of Public Safety)
In nearby Maverick County, Texas, troopers arrested Cuban national Yoisdelvis Nunez Acosta after a high-speed chase that ended with law enforcement performing a PIT maneuver. Acosta fled into nearby brush but was quickly apprehended. Another suspect, American national Alexander Rodriguez Acosta, was also arrested in connection with the smuggling operation. Both men were charged with six counts of smuggling persons, while six illegal immigrants from Mexico and Vietnam were referred to U.S. Border Patrol.
Both attempts occurred along a well-known human smuggling route at the southern border. In 2022, under the Biden administration, law enforcement discovered 53 dead immigrants abandoned inside a sweltering truck in nearby San Antonio. Authorities said the migrants suffered extreme heat exposure after being transported without adequate ventilation or water. The incident is considered one of the deadliest human smuggling incidents in U.S. history.
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White House border czar Tom Homan delivered the keynote address at the Border Security Expo on May 5, 2026, in Phoenix, Arizona. Homan said New York’s efforts to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities could lead to increased enforcement activity. (Rebecca Noble/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump border czar Tom Homan has repeatedly emphasized that “illegal immigration is not a victimless crime.”
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In response to criticism of the Trump administration’s border policies, Homan said in April, “If they wore my shoes for 40 years, and talked to a 9-year-old girl that got raped multiple times, or stood in the back of a tractor trailer with 19 dead aliens at my feet, including a 5-year-old boy that baked to death, if they understood the atrocities that happened on the open border, I think their opinion would change.”
“Where President Trump had the most secure border in the lifetime of this nation, right now, lives are being saved,” he emphasized. “He’s saving thousands of lives a year because he has a secure border.”