Federal, state, and local authorities are reporting some notable activity in remote locations along the North side of the Rio Grande border between Texas and Mexico.
We’ll work our way upriver in this article, beginning in Brownsville, where US Border Patrol Agents on October 16, 2025, interrupted four cartel smugglers as they brought bales of marijuana weighing in at 245 pounds ashore.
The smugglers were all in their teens. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks says one of them is a “15-year-old repeat offender caught doing the same thing just last month. This teen is tied to the Gulf Cartel and has multiple (Border Patrol) apprehensions.”
In addition to seizing the drugs, agents arrested all of the teenagers, who face criminal charges.
On the same day, a bit further upriver in Mission, a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) “Brush Team “ and U.S. Border Patrol Agents apprehended three illegal immigrants from Mexico & Honduras who were being smuggled by two more teens working for a cartel. The 14 and 15-year-old “foot guides” (both Mexican citizens) face Texas state felony charges for “smuggling of persons.”
Texas DPS Lieutenant Chris Olivarez says state officers are working with Border Patrol Agents “to combat criminal smuggling organizations that recruit juveniles through cartel networks to facilitate illegal activity along the Texas–Mexico border.”
Three days later, much further upriver in Kinney County, DPS Border Mounted Patrol Officers and a Texas DPS K-9 team, tracked, pursued, and apprehended an illegal alien who was trying to cross a private ranch after crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico.
He was found to be a previously deported felon, with multiple deportations dating back to 1998, and was turned over to Border Patrol Agents.
The DPS says Adan Delgado-Ortega, 52, of Mexico, has a lengthy criminal history, including convictions for assault, family violence, weapons charges, evading arrest, and drug possession. Delgado-Ortega was last removed from the United States in August 2025 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Oklahoma City.
Much further upriver, the Terrell County Sheriff’s Department continues to report a lot of activity involving illegal aliens being moved through that remote section of Southwest Texas.
On October 22, 2025, Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland reports that one of his deputies, making a routine traffic stop, found he had interrupted a human smuggling attempt instead. Four illegal aliens from Coahuila, Mexico, were apprehended, along with two U.S. citizens who were transporting them through the county.
Terrell County has experienced an increase in illegal crossings since September, as the increased presence of state and federal agents downriver has prompted the cartels to move their human smuggling operations north.
The Department of Homeland Security has responded by increasing patrols by its “Predator” drones, which resulted in three illegal aliens being spotted by one of those drones and their capture by Border Patrol Agents in Terrell County last week.
“We need this early detection capability along the border to help us be more successful in this area.” - Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland
RELATED STORIES:
Illegal Alien Upsurge Taxes West Texas Sheriff’s Departments
Texas “Badlands” Sees Illegal Alien Uptick - With Fatal Results
Should more law enforcement resources be sent to the Texas Big Bend to help curb the increase in illegal crossings from Mexico?
Share your opinion in the comments on this article!
NEW FEATURE! Would you like US Border News articles to appear in your Google News feed? Click the button below!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
Our federal government should follow the example of Poland. Anyone caught crossing into the country illegally is shot on sight. No questions asked.
This article says criminal illegals get deported and come right back in.
This is a waste of time because deporting does nothing. They turn around and come right back in. When I was partnered with BP it was catch and release which was incredibly frustrating and destroys morale. The law clearly states that if you were deported but return, it is now a felony charge with jail time yet this is still not enforced. Waste of time and resources.Im with Poland's policy. Shoot one and watch how fast this crap ends.