Texas sees increasing apprehensions of gotaways along railroad

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(The Center Square) – Illegal entries are ongoing in Texas border counties as gotaways continue to be apprehended in residential communities. 

Gotaways is the official U.S. Customs and Border Protection term used to describe foreign nationals who illegally enter between ports of entry to evade capture. They don’t make immigration claims, run away from law enforcement and don’t return to Canada or Mexico. Many have criminal records and/or are involved in criminal activity, authorities have found. In certain remote regions along the border, the majority of gotaways are single, military age men and considered national security risks, Border Patrol agents say, The Center Square reported.

For the fourth time in recent weeks, Border Patrol agents in the CBP Del Rio Sector of Texas have been apprehending gotaways who illegally entered between ports of entry and made their way north to jump in freight or grain railcars. During the height of the border crisis, Border Patrol agents and local law enforcement were involved in pulling gotaways out of railcars in multiple border counties all along the train tracks that run through Kinney, Maverick, Medina, Uvalde, Val Verde and other counties, The Center Square reported.  

Recent apprehensions are along the railroad tracks near Knippa, Texas, in Uvalde County, where Border Patrol agents working with canines are rescuing gotaways locked inside railcars. Once locked inside, there is no way to get out.

In one instance, while inspecting a stationary freight train on a rail siding, a Border Patrol canine alerted agents to an autorack car carrying automobiles. They conducted a search and found four people locked inside one of the freight cars. Three were Mexican nationals; one was Chinese. 

Less than a week earlier, Border Patrol agents found two gotaways also locked in an autorack car. One was dead. Homeland Security Investigations agents are investigating the incident. 

In another case, Border Patrol agents rescued three gotaways who were also locked inside an autorack car hauler at the same rail siding near Knippa. They were from Mexico, Nicaragua and Honduras, found concealed in the beds of pickup trucks in the locked rail car.

Prior to that, Border Patrol agents found and apprehended eight gotaways, including one minor, under identical circumstances.

“This is the work of criminal alien smugglers who have no regard for human life,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good said. “Doors on freight cars are locked externally, and migrants are trapped for an indefinite amount of time without food or water. No one should believe the lies of smugglers who say they can provide safety because they only care about the money they can gain by exploiting vulnerable people.”

Border Patrol agents apprehended all living gotaways and brought them to the Uvalde Station for processing, CBP said. 

Gotaways are also still attempting illegal entry by concealing themselves inside of vehicles as well as items being hauled, including portable water tanks. 

In a recent case, Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents rescued four gotaways trapped inside a water tank in the back of a pickup truck near Eagle Pass. 

While patrolling a rural highway, the agents pulled over the driver of a truck and performed an inspection after having suspicions about the portable water tank. Using power tools, they opened the tank and pulled out four gotaways, CBP said. Two were from Bolivia; one was from Cuba, and another from Colombia. They declined medical attention, were apprehended and transported to the Uvalde South Station for processing, CBP said. 

The driver, a 19-year-old male U.S. citizen, was arrested and turned over to HSI agents. He faces federal “alien smuggling” charges. 

“Smugglers don’t care for the safety of those they see as mere human cargo,” Good said. “Putting people in confined spaces with no means of escape is dangerous and barbaric. If not for the actions of our highly trained agents, this incident could have resulted in tragedy.”

Texas Operation Lone Star officers performed similar interdictions on a daily basis throughout south Texas during the height of the border crisis. OLS efforts are ongoing to apprehend gotaways, including those that pose national security threats, The Center Square reported. 

CBP doesn’t publicly report gotaway data. The Center Square obtained it from Border Patrol agents and was the first to report on the issue. More than two million gotaways were reported illegally entering the U.S. during the Biden administration, The Center Square exclusively reported.