Authorities crack down on truck-driving smugglers

EDINBURG -- Truckers caught smuggling drugs and immigrants could lose their licenses and their livelihood under a statewide initiative announced Thursday.

Dubbed "Texas Hold ‘Em," the program was designed to address the growing number of commercial truck drivers caught trafficking illegal cargo in Texas, said Judy Brown, chief of the Texas Department of Public Safety's driver's license division.

"Taking action to revoke the privileges of these drivers will further assist our efforts to increase safety on the public roadways and increase the security of our nation's border," she said.

In the last fiscal year, U.S. Border Patrol agents across the state arrested 444 tractor-trailer drivers on suspicion of smuggling, detained more than 2,000 illegal immigrants and seized 276,000 pounds of narcotics hidden in their cargo, said Dan Doty, the agency's local spokesman. Most of those stops occurred at checkpoints well into the state's interior, such as ones located in Falfurrias and Sarita.

Thursday's announcement met with little resistance from the commercial trucking industry, which welcomes any effort to weed out corruption in its ranks, said Glenna Bruun of the Texas Motor Transportation Association, an Austin-based trade organization.

"There's definitely no concern on this end," she said. "We support anything that will enhance public safety."

The initiative - co-sponsored by DPS and Texas' five Border Patrol sectors - will also include a statewide public service campaign and a tip line for drivers to report illegal activity.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.