There is usually a lull during the holidays in news coming out of our government agencies, but that's certainly not the case when it comes to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). During the Christmas week, CBP agents apprehended criminal aliens, intercepted drug smugglers and rescued migrants lost in the desert.
Of course, there were the violent, previously-deported criminal aliens that border patrol agents always manage to find. Gustavo Gonzalez-Rodriguez was arrested the weekend before Christmas. A Mexican national, Rodriguez has committed multiple felonies across the United States, including lewd and lascivious acts with a child and felony assault and battery. He was previously deported, but CBP agents in the Tucson Sector found him once again illegally present in the United States. Agents also found a few other aliens convicted of sex crimes in the run up to Christmas.
In an area of the border without a wall, abandoned marijuana left behind by drug smugglers was discovered by CBP agents on Christmas Eve in the San Diego area. The street value of the 244 pounds of marijuana is estimated to be worth around $97,600. And California thought the black market for marijuana would disappear once they legalized the drug. Tax revenues on cannabis have fallen far short of estimates once touted by legalization supporters.
While many Americans were out doing some last-minute Christmas shopping, one 16-year-old boy was headed back from Mexico with 220 pounds of methamphetamine hidden inside his vehicle. A canine alerted CBP officers at the Calexico West port of entry to the presence of the narcotics, which carry an estimated street value of around $264,444. CBP officers also discovered 20 kilos of cocaine worth around $500,000 inside the luggage of two departing passengers at Luis Munoz Marine International Airport in Puerto Rico. The passengers were bound for Orlando.
A family of three was rescued on Christmas Eve by CBP agents after human smugglers abandoned the family in the desert. Luckily, there was a rescue beacon -- thank you U.S. taxpayers -- the migrants activated and a rescue team promptly saved the entire family, including an infant child. As of Christmas Day, agents in the Tucson Sector have rescued 243 such individuals in under three months. So their first act in this country is to run up a huge bill for U.S. taxpayers to cover. Merry Christmas.
