(NewsNation) — As President Donald Trump ramps up border enforcement, smugglers are becoming more creative and aggressively utilizing minibuses to transport people illegally into the country on what’s been called the “smuggler’s highway.”
The highway stretch on Interstate 10 in Arizona was targeted under a special operation by the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, which says migrants have become more aggressive in the weeks since Trump took office.
Sheriffs told NewsNation they’ve had more “hot pursuits” on the smuggler’s highway in recent weeks.
Deputies say under the Biden administration, migrants who were caught would pull over knowing that they weren’t going to be locked up and deported, but now, they keep driving out of fear.
One migrant told deputies he paid $8,000 for his minibus ticket to cross illegally, while another was found crossing with more than $140,000 in cash.
The money was wrapped in small bags, and the man carrying it couldn’t explain how he got it.
Law enforcement said the money likely came from drugs or that the man was a smuggler and had been paid by some of the migrants in cash.