Texas Driver Fakes Ignorance in Criminal Illegal Immigrant Smuggling Attempt

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has made the news recently after capturing a criminal illegal immigrant and convicted child sex offender who illegally entered the U.S. more than once.

The Capture of a Texas Sex Offender

A Texas DPS trooper conducted a routine traffic stop in Eagle Pass, TX, around 7:30 in the morning of October 15. It was here where they met 27-year-old Joshua Sanders driving a gray Dodge Challenger on US 277.

The officer immediately noticed three individuals sitting in the back seat. Suspicions slowly rose when confronted with a U.S. citizen transporting three people whose native language is NOT English in a town with one of the state's busiest ports of entry.

Sanders claimed he responded to a wanted driver request online but had no idea about who the people were that he was hired to transport. His answers did not show officers that he was oblivious but rather that he knew exactly what he was getting himself into.

After failing to provide legitimate reasons for travel, Sanders was detained while the three passengers were identified. All three were undocumented immigrants attempting to illegally gain access into the country with the help of Sanders.

Read More: Misdemeanor Vs. Felony: Breaking Down Texas Law

Joshua Sanders was then arrested and charged with smuggling of persons. Check out the full video of Sanders' arrest from the Texas Department of Public Safety YouTube page:

The Arrest of Jose Arroyo

One of the passengers was 49-year-old Jose Aleman Arroyo from Mexico who "was an aggravated deported felon who reentered the United States after being convicted of indecency with a child and assault," Texas DPS states.

Arroyo's criminal history dates back to 2021 in North Carolina when he was arrested for indecency with a child and violent assault by pointing a gun at a victim. He was deported in August of 2025 before this latest attempt of illegal reentry.

The other two passengers, one from Mexico and the other from Honduras, were turned over to Border Patrol.