The journalist who collected the videos called the activities 'brazen'
Videos show smugglers’ trek into US with illegal immigrants
Videos posted to TikTok show migrants’ journey into the US guided by smugglers. (Credit: Auden Cabello/TikTok)
Videos being published on TikTok by a smuggler are giving an insight into how illegal immigrants are smuggled across the border, in what one journalist describes as a "brazen" display of illegal activity.
The videos, collected by independent journalist Auden Cabello, show migrants moving through gates and marching across territory in northern Mexico, covering their footprints as they go in some cases.
Some of them are in camouflage as they make the treacherous trek north to the U.S. border.
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Eventually, a group is pictured in a car on the highway, suggesting they are in the U.S. and have gotten in as "gotaways" who have evaded Border Patrol. What stood out to Cabello is that the smuggler, who he said posts to Facebook as well as TikTok, didn’t seem to want to hide his activities.
This undated photo shows migrants moving through Mexico on their way to the U.S. border. (Auden Cabello/TikTok)
"The main thing that stood out is how brazen he is in documenting his whole journey of getting illegals into the U.S. and just what he's saying… in a way he's mocking U.S. authorities," Cabello said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
"To him, it makes it very easy to get people across the border illegally," he said.
Cabello, who has reported from both sides of the border, said he has seen videos like this before, but not to this extent, given the detail with which this smuggler documented the whole journey.
"There are countless numbers of accounts documenting similar, similar journeys, or crossings of illegals into the U.S.," he said.
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But he said most smugglers want to keep their routes secret in case Mexico or other authorities crack down on them.
"Most of the smugglers want to keep it secret. They don't want to disclose their operations, especially on social media, because then they'll get law enforcement behind them," he said.
Asked whether he thinks the smuggler is showing off or trying to gain more business from other migrants, Cabello said it is both.
"It's both. It's showing off, and it's also business because he's saying, ‘It's guaranteed, hire me. I'll get you across easily.'"
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
The U.S. remains in the grip of a historic border crisis, with data suggesting the number of "gotaways" may be on the rise. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources told Fox News that Border Patrol recorded 779 known gotaways on Monday.
Fox News Digital reported last week on groups of illegal immigrants being apprehended in the El Paso Sector, as smugglers tried to guide migrants through the mountains while evading Border Patrol.
Fox News' Bill Melugin and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
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