U.S. Border Agents Show Storm Drain Tunnels Used for Migrant Smuggling in El Paso

U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Confined Space Entry Team showed Fox News the storm drain tunnel network used for migrant smuggling in El Paso, Texas. The system contains 32 entry points from the Rio Grande and hundreds of exit points throughout the city.

Smugglers charge migrants $20,000 to $30,000 per person for passage through the tunnels. Groups of 40 to 60 migrants were regularly encountered before the current administration; agents now typically encounter groups of two or three. The Department of Homeland Security stated that June 2026 marked 14 consecutive months of zero releases at the U.S.

Border. Daily border apprehensions are down 94 percent compared to the prior administration, according to the department. CBP reached a staffing level of 21,471 agents in spring 2026, the highest in the agency's 102-year history.

The team uses technology to detect underground movement, monitors entry points, and positions agents to intercept smugglers. A team member said the primary operational challenges inside the tunnels are heat, low oxygen, and physical exhaustion before potential confrontation with smugglers. El Paso daytime summer temperatures often exceed 100 degrees.

Smugglers are using social media to recruit and train guides for the tunnel routes. U.S. Border Patrol agents and the Texas National Guard investigated a tunnel between Juarez and El Paso on January 14, 2025.

Mexican National Guard and Attorney General's Office personnel secured and permanently sealed a clandestine tunnel used for drug and human trafficking in Ciudad Juarez on January 13, 2025. A separate tunnel discovered on January 10, 2025, was sealed on March 11, 2025.