Texas troopers involved in a high speed pursuit with a suspected people smuggler discovered 10 migrants crammed inside the car, at least three of them in the trunk.

Footage of the pursuit along Interstate 35 in Webb County ended with Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers apprehending the suspect on October 30.

In October, Newsweek reported that border agents were dealing with illegal immigration hot spots along the southern border where cameras have been inoperable for up to a year.

The pursuit began when DPS troopers saw a Dodge Charger suspected of transporting immigrants who were in the US illegally.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver — identified as Jaime Gonzalez, a Laredo resident — responded by leading officers on a car chase, DPS spokesman Chris Olivarez said in a post on X, ex Twitter.

Gonzalez drove around parking lots and neighborhood streets to evade law enforcement, Olivarez continued.

Using a maneuver, DPS troopers were eventually able to stop the car. Upon inspection, they discovered 10 immigrants from Mexico huddled inside the vehicle…including two children 8 and 9 years old, the post says.

Olivarez wrote: “Troopers charged Gonzalez with eight counts of trafficking in persons with risk of serious bodily injury or death, two counts of trafficking in persons under 18 years of age, evading arrest with risk of serious bodily injury or death and reckless driving. .”

All 10 people found in the vehicle were referred to US Border Patrol for further processing.

Hector Garza, vice president of the National Border Patrol Council, previously said Newsweek about faulty cameras along the US-Mexico border, “This has been a serious problem for at least the last eight months.” He added, “We didn’t realize how bad it was. At first we thought it was a problem in the Laredo sector, but we’ve come to find out that this is a big problem nationwide.”

In October, DPS engaged in a high-speed chase, eventually arresting a Guatemalan national suspected of human smuggling after finding nine immigrants in the vehicle.

As part of the Texas Governor Greg AbbottThe $11 million Operation Lone Star, launched in 2021 to reduce illegal migration, DPS deployed to disrupt smuggling activities along the border.

Immigration and border security are key issues for voters in next week’s election.

Survey conducted by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of Newsweek showed that 68 percent of Americans believed the federal government should adopt a higher tough approach to immigration.

According to a Gallup poll, a slight majority of respondents supported Trump’s signature border wall policy since his tenure in the White House, as 53 percent supported significantly expanding wall construction along US-Mexico borderup 13 points from 2019.