Fentanyl and meth seizures at the ports of entry are also up, 719 percent and 781 percent, respectively. 1 0 obj An official website of the United States government. Copyright 2000 - 2023 The Epoch Times Association Inc. All Rights Reserved. Id been caught with 1.7 ounces of pot, which is technically a federal misdemeanor punishable by a $1,000 fine and one year in prison, but the Department of Justice almost never prosecutes a case so small. Yall got a lotta shit here. Still, Republicans have seized the messaging that President Biden has fueled a border crisis.. I looked at him real hard, then I asked again whose dope was it. He believes the drug cartels across the river are a clear and present danger to our national security and advocates a more muscular response than Washington is willing to contemplate. The county seat, Sierra Blanca, is a wan relic of better times, with two gas stations and no stoplights, and the last surviving adobe courthouse in Texas, a visible reminder that this was the frontier not so long ago. As the DMN previously reported, Stephen Pahl, the Texas health departments associate commissioner for consumer protection, informed lawmakers during this year's regular legislative session that state law allows DSHS Commissioner John Hellerstedt to object to federal drug schedules, including delta-8. He nodded to the Border Patrol agent standing beside my car, a stern young man in crisp green fatigues, who put his hand on his sidearm, opened my door, and said the words you never want to hear: Please get out of the car, sir., I sighed and got out. 4 0 obj Its a situation that requires a sheriff to get a little creative. In the hotly politicized debate over immigration, it shows the complexity of any search for solutions. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Upon entering the checkpoint drivers and passengers are subject to questioning, canine searches, and possible detainment. This is not an uncommon occurrence, since the dogs can smell the residual odor of drugs, and the officers were about to declare a false alert. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Al Reinert is a contributing editor toTexas Monthly and a documentary filmmaker whose most recent movie is An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story. But those buds had been so prettydense yet fluffy, with the tiny purple hairs that promise perfect ripeness. TAKE THE WILLIE Nelson case. My vehicle soon approached 80mph as I drove through the desolate landscape. Follow us on Twitter at @USBPChiefEPT and @CBPWestTexas. Because Texas has implied consent laws, refusal to take this test can result in a one-year license suspension. THC is the active psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, responsible for the users high. To this day, routine school activities such as a field trip or even a high school sports event to cities such as Corpus Christi or San Antonio, which are not too far from Hidalgo, can cause anxiety among school administrators who know the chances are good that some of their students are undocumented and may encounter problems at these checkpoints. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. We are dedicated to protecting your rights. Hudspeth County doesnt even have a full-time prosecutor; it has to bring one over from El Paso twice a month. Charlotte Cuthbertson is a senior reporter with The Epoch Times who primarily covers border security and the opioid crisis. Several agents surrounded my car and popped the trunk. EDINBURG, Texas U.S. Border Patrol agents working at the Border Patrol Checkpoints seize marijuana and methamphetamine in two separate incidents.On Saturday morning, agents working at the Falfurrias Border Patrol Checkpoint referred a Ford F250 to the secondary inspection area. The numbers were already rising during the last few months of the Trump administration. WebMost people have been through the border checkpoints with little fanfare. So many lives have been lost, including many in Brooks county, that a cottage industry of support workers have sprung up that do everything from set water jugs in remote areas of the county to locating and analyzing the DNA of those who have perished in this unforgiving region of Texas. and N. Texas Street. stream For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. But as Molomot recently told me, that story, like the issue of immigration itself, became much more complex. Los Zetas Cartel checkpoints in the border city of Nuevo Laredo are linked to more than 100 forced disappearancesincluding the recent kidnapping of three U.S. citizens. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS The amount of drugs seized at the highway checkpoints has already gradually decreased this year as Border Patrol agents have continually been pulled into processing large numbers of illegal immigrants. Smithhart v. Each bag and sack and carton and box is stamped with a case number and sealed with evidence tape, but the skunky aroma of all that pot is irrepressible, overwhelming, positively intoxicating. According to the Drug Enforcement Administration, two milligrams of fentanyl can be lethal, depending on a persons body size. They probably weighed the container along with the dope. This sounded just plausible. Are you sure its yours? Willie said yep, it was all his.. I had passed through it many times over the years without any problems, and that made me careless last summer. Also, two massive hurricanes that slammed Central America late last year have added to the misery and displacement. May 24, 2022. Last year, that happened 2,297 times even though the number of people incarcerated decreased by about 16%. According to West, when he showed this room to Willie, the pothead king exclaimed, Whoa! Unbridled Evil: The Corrupt Reign of Jiang Zemin in China. Border Patrol Checkpoints Close, Agents Sent to Del Rio Bridge. Correction, Oct. 21, 2021 at 9:26 a.m.: Families can spend a lifetime in Hidalgo county, where I live, and get along fine without documentation. Unless one of the federal agencies takes custody of the offender, nearly everyone charged with a felony at the checkpoint is transferred to the county jail in Sierra Blanca, to be fed, housed, and supervised for extended periods, often many months. Official websites use .gov But that little adobe courthouse couldnt begin to handle the caseload if the law were truly enforced. Delta-8 was thought to be made legal in Texas nearly two years ago after Gov. Webf1 power to weight ratio 2021; thyroid adenoma treatment; raglan cardigan crochet pattern; workers' compensation board address binghamton ny; female impersonators 1960s; roland sensor cushion; Najwitszej Maryi Panny Krlowej Polski > Bez kategorii > drug checkpoints in texas. Authorities from both sides of the border This helps explain why West is so lenient on small-time potheads like me. To access the data used to build this dashboard, please visit the CBP Data Portal. First, the officer will typically ask you to provide your license and registration. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. WebPublished in the July 23, 2021 edition of the Texas Register (46 TexReg 4479). At highway checkpoints along the whole southern border, agents have seized 431 pounds of fentanyl during the last 11 months, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics. The film notes that more than 20,000 migrants have died in the south-west US since the policy was enacted in 1994. I had lots of time to observe these agents and can testify that they are a humorless crew. In 2019, two pounds. Despite Bushs efforts, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 failed, but border security has only continued to tighten since then. I never made it to the courthouse. Who among us can ever be sure we havent pissed off a government computer somewhere? This was gleefully reported by news media across the country but soon overruled by the county judge, Becky Dean-Walker, who reckoned it shameless favoritism. endobj We report on vital issues from politics to education and are the indispensable authority on the Texas scene, covering everything from music to cultural events with insightful recommendations. Three years after federal legislation removed the marijuana extract known as delta-8 THC from the nation's list of controlled substances, Texas health officials have put it on its own list of illegal drugs, sending a shockwave through the growing CBD retail industry across the state and making the substance, essentially, illegal. Other He co-founded Breitbart Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darbyand senior Breitbart management. Agents arrested the driver, 29 year-old U.S. citizen Briana Carrasco. I took a deep breath and let him sit there a minute to think about it. Our mission is to keep bad people and bad things out of the country, Huffman told me. On March 27, Border Patrol agents assigned to the Border Patrol Checkpoint located on Highway 62/180 in Desert Haven, Texas, inspected a black Nissan Altima bearing New Mexico plates. The Border Patrol says the rising amount of fentanyl is being found in the desert transported by increasingly brazen smugglers who are exploiting stretched federal resources. West has fairly alarmist notions about border conditions. In an effort to keep CBP.gov current, the archive contains content from a previous administration or is otherwise outdated. On foot, in the backcountry, with limited food and water, that journey is far different. A sign near the closed Border Patrol highway checkpoint on Highway 90 near Uvalde, Texas, on Sept. 17, 2021. <> Currency & Other Monetary Instrument Seizures, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Seizures. The film-makers intent was to follow a pioneering associate professor of anthropology at Baylor University who was leading an effort to use DNA technology to identify hundreds of dead migrants, many of whom are buried without identification and many more whose remains are torn apart by animals and scattered across the terrain. A DWI attorney can help prove that the evidence against you was obtained during an illegal stop. He can be contacted at[emailprotected]. The gunmen interrogate the disappeared about their identities, where they are traveling, and why. The checkpoint will take place in the area of Travis Blvd. Reporting of alerts on this webpage may be delayed.Text and email alerts are delivered in real-time*. February 2023 Reader Quiz: What Did You Learn? Then he offered to show me the evidence room. The documentary weaves together the rarely seen compassionate role of law enforcement as officers search for and recover bodies and the less compassionate role of camouflaged and heavily armed civilians who spend their nights wearing night-vision goggles to look for lawbreakers. It's not the first time this debate over whether delta-8 was or was not a controlled substance in Texas has come up. The agent who checked my vehicle looked like a teenager, a potential rookie that smugglers looking for checkpoint weaknesses could exploit. WebThe infamous border patrol stop along I-10 in West Texas otherwise known as the Sierra Blanca checkpoint recently claimed its latest celebrity detainee, the rapper Nelly. Snoop Lion), Fiona Apple, Nelly, Armie Hammer (the actor who plays the new Lone Ranger)all made news after their vehicles were searched at the checkpoint and dope was discovered. During the 2021 fiscal year, agents have found 41 pounds so far a dramatic rise that experts attribute to the increasing role in drug cartels producing the illicit drug themselves with raw materials from China. He is the Department of State Health Services commissioner, not the Health and Human Services commissioner. The rationale for all this effort was later explained to me by Carry Huffman, the deputy chief patrol agent of the Big Bend sector. As of mid-afternoon on Sept. 17, more than 12,800 illegal aliens, mostly Haitians, were camped out under the bridge waiting to be processed by Border Patrol. I told them if one of those other guys said the dope was his, then Willie could walk. Just off US highway 281, south of a spit of a town called Encino in Brooks county, theres a cross made of wind-strewn flowers tied to a utility pole marking the spot where 10 undocumented migrants were killed last month when the speeding van carrying them crashed. New documentary Missing in Brooks County looks at Falfurrias, one of the busiest immigration checkpoints in the US and the growing number of deaths plaguing the nations border region. Several agents surrounded, my car and popped the trunk. West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians, The Top 50 Texas BBQ Joints: 2021 Edition, The Campaign to Sabotage Texass Public Schools. Because individuals can be searched and assessed without probable cause at sobriety checkpoints, Texas lawmakers determined this to be unconstitutional. As he calls on the Biden administration to take action on the federal level, he is also imploring parents to cherish their children. I have heard some sheriffs wont enforce. He co-founded Breitbart Texas Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. This landmark is at the center of Missing in Brooks County, a new documentary that details the growing number of deaths plaguing the nations border with Mexico and the logistical challenges in identifying even a single migrant among many hundreds who die annually. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. I was at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection station on Interstate 10 near Sierra Blanca, a nearly invisible town about two thirds of the way from El Paso to Van Horn. And that is concerning to me.. A part-time singer-songwriter himself, Wayne played what he thought was his best composition, Bull-Hauling Man, for Willie, who told him it was pretty darn good. Despite Bushs efforts, the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 failed, but border security has only continued to tighten since then. (I) Webdairy farms for sale in michigan. After several hours they grew bored with me. With a glance in my backseat and upon hearing my declaration that Im an American, the agent waved me through. This reduced the charge against him to a misdemeanor and made Willie eligible for one of those $527 paraphernalia tickets, which is how the case was eventually disposed. The migrant is given a little water and often-scant directions to march through unforgiving backcountry to meet the smugglers north of the Falfurrias checkpoint. Amplify your impact and donate now. Kinney County sits on Highway 90 between Del Rio and the checkpoint near Uvalde. City Employees Are Heading for the Exits. There are stacks and stacks of bags and sacks and big cartons and small white boxes, all full of marijuana and crammed to the ceiling of a cinder-block vault the size of a four-car garage. To the distant east of US 281, the main thoroughfare in the region, is the historic King Ranch. WebDrug Trends in Texas 2021: A Report to the National Drug Early Warning System Jane Carlisle Maxwell, Ph.D., Research Professor Emeritus Highlights Texas has 254 counties and, as of 2020, a population of 28,995,881 with 42% White, 40% Hispanic, 12% Black, The current theory is the family encountered a cartel checkpoint. They wore jeans and scruffy T-shirts and didnt appear to be celebrities. Citizens are encouraged to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol, while remaining anonymous by calling 1-800-635-2509 toll-free. If you believe you were stopped during an illegal sobriety checkpoint, contact a lawyer immediately. The checkpoint was held in the area of Travis Blvd. DSHS doesnt regulate possession of controlled substances, a DSHS spokesperson said. Last May, the Texas Legislature attempted to make delta-8 illegal, but the issued failed. The Texas ruling on DWI checkpoints has been in place long enough that law enforcement should be fully aware that they are illegal in this state. West has fairly alarmist notions about border conditions. A middle-aged couple was cuffed to the rail a few feet down from me. If you are facing DWI charges after going through an illegal sobriety checkpoint, contact our Dallas DWI lawyers today. And this had a curious result. DUI checkpoint scheduled for Travis at North Texas on Friday 10/27/2022 11:00:08 AM FAIRFIELD A DUI checkpoint will be placed at Travis It was your basic pothead screwup. Fentanyl has changed everything, he said. Throw in a relentless south Texas sun and even a short journey can become a challenge. The number has swelled almost by the hour since the morning of Sept. 13 when around 2,000 were under the bridge. On some levels, it seems a fairly innocuous exercise to have to declare yourself American before being waved on your journey. To the west is country just as rugged and, typically, the preferred route for smugglers to send migrants to circumvent the checkpoint. Authorities share grave concern about how CDN-Los Zetas has created a database which mimics government ones loaded with property records, license information, and other contents. Just hours after the closures, Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe said hes certain the lack of checkpoints is already being exploited by everybodycartels, human smugglers, on and on.. Christine Perez, who manages the popular Austin CBD store Lazydaze+Coffeeshop, had no idea about the change until she saw the Texas Department of State Health Services notice on the agencys website on Oct. 15. If you are subjected to an illegal sobriety checkpoint, follow these tips: Additionally, you are allowed to turn around to avoid going through a checkpoint. When I took office in 2000, he told me, we had less than a thousand federally initiated cases a year to deal with, and most of them were felonies. As a child in my home town of El Paso, I reveled in passing border patrol stations just to see the uniformed agents and the drug-sniffing dogs, staples at checkpoints.