Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a twice deported Honduran man who was reportedly armed with a pistol before his arrest. The agents found him with a group of 15 migrants. This is the third armed human smuggling encounter for Brackettville Station Border Patrol agents in a one-week period.

“Illegal aliens possessing a weapon pose great risks to our agents and our communities,” Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Raul L. Ortiz said in a statement provided by Del Rio Sector Border Patrol officials. “We have seen how dangerous encounters with armed individuals can be for agents.

On Monday, an El Paso Sector Border Patrol agent came under fire after he approached a group of migrants near Sunland Park. The agent returned fire, striking and killing the armed migrant, Breitbart Texas reported.

Brackettville Station Border Patrol agents encountered a group of migrants on a ranch near the town of Brackettville, Texas. This area is a known human smuggling route for migrants attempting to circumvent one of the Border Patrol interior checkpoints in the area.

The agents took the group of six Honduran adult males, four Honduran adult females, four Honduran juveniles, and a Mexican adult female into custody after determining them to be illegally present in the U.S., officials stated. The agents conducted a search of the area and found a backpack containing a .22 caliber revolver.

An investigation tied the backpack to a 46-year-old Honduran male traveling with the group, officials reported.

The agents transported the group of migrants to the Border Patrol station for processing and a biometric background investigation. During the background checks, the agents learned that the man they identified as traveling with the handgun has an immigration history that included two previous deportations. Those occurred in 2006 and 2007, officials stated.

The Border Patrol agents arrested the Honduran man who now faces federal criminal charges under 8 USC § 922 G-5 – Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm. If convicted on the charge, he could face up to five years in federal prison. He could also face federal felony charges for illegal re-entry after removal.

The other migrants were processed under CBP guidelines.

On October 27, Brackettville Station Border Patrol agents assisted a Kenney County Sheriff’s Office deputy who had stopped a vehicle with a group of migrants and a suspected human smuggler, Breitbart Texas reported. During a search of the vehicle, the deputy found a Smith & Wesson 9mm pistol in the driver’s side door pocket. The deputy arrested the driver and a passenger and seized the handgun and vehicle. The agents transported the four illegal immigrants to the Brackettville Station for processing. Officials did not disclose the nationality of the four migrants.

One day earlier, Brackettville Station Border Patrol agents found a second handgun while searching the area of a disrupted human smuggling attempt. During a search of the area, the agents found a black backpack on the ground. A search of the backpack revealed a Glock 26 9mm pistol. Officials report the handgun was fully loaded.

Chief Ortiz said that since the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1, there were 12 smuggling cases involving guns. This compared to only five for the previous fiscal year, he explained.