By Jerald Jimenez
04 Apr 2024, 12:14 PM EDT
A member of the Texas National Guard was arrested for allegedly smuggling immigrants at the southern border, after being detained last Sunday in a video released by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) and Kinney County agents.
The subject, identified as Savion Amari Donovan Johnson, 26, was deployed at the Eagle Pass crossing as part of Operation Lone Star, promoted by Governor Greg Abbott, and was arrested after a chase at more than 100 mph in which DPS officers used spike strips to stop the truck he was in. An undocumented immigrant jumped and fled before turning himself in to Border Patrol.
Following the incident, Johnson was charged with evading arrest, human smuggling and illegal carrying of a weapon. The suspect was allegedly promised between $5,000 and $6,000 to smuggle the undocumented immigrant.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Abbot’s office condemned the events in a statement that was picked up by Fox News. He stated that these types of crimes deserve a minimum sentence of 10 years.
“If the allegations are true, the defendant is a traitor and a criminal,” the office said. “We have zero tolerance for Texans who violate laws that directly contradict the mission we seek to achieve. The defendant’s illegal smuggling may subject him to a mandatory minimum prison sentence of at least 10 years. “He deserves more.”
The incident comes as the state of Texas has increased its resources as part of Operation Lone Star. Also at a time when the state has faced the Justice Department in oral arguments before a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals over its controversial anti-illegal immigration law.
“There have always been people crossing the border,” Texas Attorney General Aaron Nielson said in defense of the law in court. “But before we were talking about hundreds of thousands. Now we are talking about millions. Before we were talking about tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors. Now we are talking about hundreds of thousands. In another time, we talked about some countries. Now we talk about practically all countries.”
With information from New York Post