This holiday season, the Border Patrol wants to put the message out that its checkpoints are fully staffed. 

They say smuggling attempts tend to happen in waves, and they want potential smugglers to know that checkpoints are fully staffed ahead of the holidays. 

At the Falfurrias checkpoint, the busiest checkpoint in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, there have been increases and decreases in attempts this year. While apprehensions were higher in 2022, this year's numbers have kept up.

"Our agents are always prepared for the workload that comes to us. These checkpoints are manned 365, 24/7. It doesn't matter the holidays or not, we're never closed, we're always ready," Border Patrol agent Christina Salinas Smallwood said.

Rounding up the numbers of apprehensions for the months of August, September and October, Border Patrol says the number of single adults apprehended in this sector is about half of what it was this time last year.

The number of single minors, about two thirds of what it was like this time last year, but the number of family units slightly went up.

Border Patrol says they work to have 20 agents on staff at all times at the Falfurrias checkpoint, and will continue through the holidays.