Hole In Homeland Security

Sleepy Valley fishing town could be a gateway for smugglers and illegal immigrants

PORT MANSFIELD - During the day, the town is a quaint fishing village. But at night there's no one watching the port, leaving it wide open to anyone.

Compounding the problems is a small unregulated airport, where pilots don't have to check in with anyone.

At night, the only law enforcement to come to Port Mansfield is the Willacy County Sheriff's Office.

They tell us there's not enough money to patrol the area on a regular basis, but they know it could be a hot spot for crime.

"There's probably more than we know actually goes on here. But we kind of have our hands tied on that," says Sgt. Eli Cano.

Governor Rick Perry's office says they are looking at a grant to put more law enforcement into Port Mansfield. But when it comes to protecting the border, that's the Department of Homeland Security's Job.

The U.S. Coast Guard and Border Patrol both patrol the area from time to time. But there's no permanent base.