CBP Exposes 32 El Paso Tunnel Entry Points as Cartels Charge Migrants $30,000
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jul 17
CBP Exposes 32 El Paso Tunnel Entry Points as Cartels Charge Migrants $30,000
2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 17
Summary
CBP’s elite Confined Space Entry Team said cartels are still moving migrants and narcotics through El Paso storm drains, where 32 Rio Grande entry points and hundreds of city exits make detection difficult.
Agents described the tunnels as hot, dark and low on oxygen, with summer temperatures above 100 degrees and patrols turning into underground confrontations without easy backup.
Smugglers now charge $20,000 to $30,000 per person for the route and are increasingly using social media to recruit and train guides to navigate the passageways.
Tunnel traffic has dropped sharply under Trump, with agents now finding two or three migrants at a time instead of groups of 40 to 60.
The disclosure came as DHS said June marked 14 straight months of zero border releases, daily apprehensions were down 94% from the Biden era, and CBP staffing hit a record 21,471 agents.