SAN ANTONIO – Halfway through its 90-day "Operation Coyote," U.S. Homeland Security Investigations reports it has targeted many of the human smugglers behind the child exodus arriving in the Rio Grande Valley.
"We realized we need to increase our presence," said Aristides Jimenez, HSI deputy special agent in charge.
Recommended Videos
Jimenez said 60 additional special agents are involved, gathering intel about smuggling operations.
He said as a result, 192 human smugglers have been arrested and 500 undocumented immigrants are now detained, including women and children from Central America.
Jimenez said many risked their lives on a dangerous journey because of false hopes spread by smugglers about the immigrants' chances of staying in the U.S.
"They will say anything to get their money," Jimenez said. "The more people they lure into the United States, the more money they make."
Jimenez said so far, they've seized about $600,000 deposited in nearly 300 U.S. banks.
"Most of these deposits come from family members paying for the smuggler's fees to bring their family members into the U.S.," he said.
Yet because of restrictions adopted by the Mexican government two years ago limiting the size of deposits by its citizens, Jimenez said smugglers now resort to money laundering.
He said they use interstate funnel accounts whereby families in the U.S. deposit the cash into banks with branches in South Texas, making it easier for smugglers to access the funds.
"Then they can figure out a way to transfer that money back into Mexico," Jimenez said.
Jimenez said HSI also is working with American financial institutions to prevent them from being used for the movement of illegal proceeds.