Report: ‘Criminal aliens’ linked to Mexico drug cartels

A record number of immigrants died in Texas last year, according to a report released this week. But while many continue to risk their lives to reach the United States with hopes for a better future, others arrive with malicious intent, authorities warn. They are referred to as “criminal aliens.” Although some of them act alone, others are affiliated with the cartels or gangs, a Texas Public Safety Threat Overview report found. “A review of these 141,982 defendants shows that they are responsible for at least 447,844 individual criminal charges over their criminal careers, including 2,032 homicides and 5,048 sexual assaults,” the report released Wednesday states. Mexican cartels control either directly or indirectly most human smuggling and trafficking routes and networks in Texas, according to the DPS threat report. “The nature of the cartels’ command and control of human smuggling and human trafficking networks along the border is varied,” the report states, adding that cartels either have direct organizational involvement or are paid by smuggling organizations to operate in their territory...more