Luis Palacios allegedly transported a truckload of foreigners illegally into the United States
Luis Palacios allegedly transported a truckload of foreigners illegally into the United States. He has been charged with felony bringing in and harboring aliens. The incident began on January 4, at 5:50 a.m., when Border Patrol Agent (BPA) Adam Birchard was traveling west on Route 105 in Jay. Birchard observed a light gray-colored Ford F-150 truck with a New York license plate pulled over onto the shoulder of the north side of Route 105. Birchard continued past the Ford F-150 and pulled into the small parking lot and turned around. Once he pulled back onto Route 105, he observed headlights driving toward him and noticed that it was the Ford F-150. Birchard then turned his vehicle around again and traveled westbound on Route 105 to catch up to the Ford F-150. Birchard caught up to the vehicle and pulled it over. He approached Ford F-150 and observed a female in the front passenger seat and a male in the driver’s seat. Birchard noticed that the vehicle’s bed was covered by what appeared to be a homemade wooden cover, painted black. Birchard asked Palacios what was in the bed of the vehicle. There are two. Birchard then placed Barragan in handcuffs and informed him that he was being detained for suspicion of illegal alien smuggling. Birchard and BPA Holbrook then searched the rear seat of the vehicle and found four other people. Four of the subjects claimed to be citizens of Mexico and two of the subjects claimed to be citizens of Guatemala. One of the illegal aliens claimed that he paid an alien smuggler in Canada $2,000 to smuggle him into the United States.