Human-Smuggler ‘Bailouts’ Are Endangering Border Communities

Mayor Don McLaughlin of Uvalde is dealing with unprecedented migrant traffic in his small Texas city. 

“We’re seeing the traffic up more; the ‘gottaways’ and the ‘walk-arounds’ are up probably 200 percent,” McLaughlin told me today. Many of these migrants are single adult men. 

He believes this is because the Border Patrol is tied up processing the surge of migrants seeking asylum at the border, leaving communities such as Uvalde “wide open.” Those who are circumventing checkpoints where migrants can seek asylum often have criminal records, according to McLaughlin. “They wouldn’t be allowed in the United States.”

Uvalde, about 75 miles east of the border, is precariously located at the intersection of various major roads and highways that connect directly with major border-crossing areas such as Del Rio and Eagle Pass. 

“We were averaging probably three to five chases a week. . . . Now we’re starting to see two to three a day.”

McLaughlin also calls these chases “bailouts.” A “bailout” is when a coyote, or smuggler, is “hauling these illegals into the country” and gets detected by a police officer. “Instead of stopping, they try to outrun [the police].”  

Bailouts impose a major cost on the Uvalde community. “Our law-enforcement budget is probably up 30 percent, 40 percent above what it normally is because of all the pursuits and the bailouts that we had to deal with in 2021.”

Aside from being costly, bailouts are dangerous. “[The coyotes] will crash into a yard, they’ll crash to a rancher’s fence . . . they’ll do whatever they can to get out. They’ll all jump out of the car and try to scatter.” 

Bailouts often occur in residential areas or around schools in order to hinder law enforcement’s ability to pursue the bailout vehicle: 

McLaughlin drove me around Uvalde Estates, a residential area with narrow roads and sharp turns. In other parts of town, he pointed out some spots where bailouts had ended in crashes. 

This creates a major risk for residents of Uvalde, especially school-age children. 

In 2020 and 2021, McLaughlin reported that Uvalde schools had to be locked down 48 times. Already in 2022, schools have been locked down three times. 

“In more and more of these cars, we were finding firearms. . . . That was alarming to us.” McLaughlin ended up contacting Governor Abbott, who sent Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to Uvalde. But that was temporary: They’re back at the border now to deal with the migrant surge. 

Other citizens complained about the bailouts. Angie, owner of Evett’s BBQ in Uvalde, told me that “there used to be maybe one chase a week. . . . Now it’s like four or five . . . chases a day.” When I asked if she feels less safe, she said, “Oh yeah.”

It’s not just heightened migrant traffic or dangerous bailouts; Department of Public Safety officials also are releasing migrants into Uvalde when they run out of detention space. McLaughlin reported receiving up to 150 migrants at a time. 

“You start releasing 150 people in a small town like this, there’s gotta be problems,” he said. “We’re not equipped to handle it.” 

For McLaughlin, who owns and operates his own 90-employee business, being mayor is a labor of love. “I get paid 50 bucks to be mayor of Uvalde, Texas. And I did it because I wanted to see my community grow.” And apparently he’s loved for it; as we sat in a local coffee shop, McLaughlin’s constituents called over with smiles and jokes.

Despite a pandemic and the immigration crisis, McLaughlin is undeterred. He is, however, perplexed: “It’s just crazy that our government is allowing . . . what’s taking place in our country.”