BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – A Laredo man accused of smuggling 52 migrants in three human smuggling cases has been arrested, the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said on Saturday during a news conference.
Abelardo Herrera, 30, was taken into custody on Wednesday. Herrera has a history of smuggling-related arrests, including incidents on Jan. 22, Jan. 14 and June 2024, according to authorities.
During the press conference, Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said the department connected Herrera to those three incidents.
“This person (sic) that clearly has not gotten the point that his activities are highly illegal,” Salazar said. “I can tell you this guy here has links to the cartels.”
It’s unclear why Herrera was not held in jail after the second smuggling attempt on Jan. 14. However, Herrera is now facing multiple charges, including 10 counts of continuous smuggling of people, two counts of continually smuggling people under 18 years old, and engaging in organized crime.
Herrera is also expected to face an unknown number of federal charges for smuggling migrants.
“This guy just keeps resurfacing,” Salazar said. “I don’t have any reason to believe that there’s any ongoing threat to the community.”
Herrera’s arrest comes on the heels of President Donald Trump’s efforts to secure a strong southern border and end illegal immigration.
“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places from which they came,” Trump said following his inauguration.
A major point of contention is whether or not Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will raid schools, churches and hospitals through federal orders.
“I am not concerned with going into churches or going into schools,” Salazar said. “You know, people should be free to worship or get an education if they’re legal enough to get into the school system, let them go to school in peace.”
Salazar said he has seen rumors on social media about raids around the Bexar County area and said his deputies have not been asked to be a part of any raid.
“I don’t know if that’s actually occurring or if it’s just kind of urban myths on social media,” Salazar said. “What I can tell you is: the Sheriff’s office, we’re going to obey the law, but we’ve also got to respect people’s rights.”
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