ODESSA, Texas —
The recent spike in human smuggling cases could be linked to the tougher measures being enforced along the border to keep migrants out. This is causing smugglers to try other paths in order to avoid checkpoints, according to Brewster County Sheriff Ronny Dodson.
"It looks like they're getting on the dirt roads, getting on the ranches to try to circumvent, you know, checkpoints and law enforcement by getting off the black tops, the actual smugglers who are driving them. Not your walkers like they used to do," said Sheriff Dodson.
Sheriff Dodson said it's not uncommon for human smuggling cases to spike up and down. This is due to the conditions at the border.
“When Terrell County slows down, we pick up. When we slow down, Terrell County picks up. So just they're hitting and missing," Sheriff Dodson said. "We're hoping that these smugglers get word that we'll put them in jail and the guys that they smuggle get to go home.”
These kinds of cases show no sign of going away anytime soon.
“So, I don't think it's going to stop. I think it's going to keep going. I mean, they were smuggling when my grandmother was here, they'll smuggle when I'm gone," Sheriff Dodson said. "I mean, as long as the people of this country have hunger for cheap labor and narcotics or anything that's going to be illegal here that they can bring out of Mexico, we're going to see that.”
Regardless of whether smuggling cases go up or down, Sheriff Dodson said law enforcement will work hard to catch smugglers.