Law enforcement officials say they are using all the resources at their disposal to combat human trafficking cases across the Rio Grande Valley.

Representatives with the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office, the Department of Homeland Security and Department of Justice gathered in Harlingen on Thursday to bring awareness to the topic of human smuggling.

One presenter said they are "inundated" with human smuggling cases as police track cross border smuggling, and grooming attempts made over social media

“We get a lot of teenage girls. Basically, these apps they can meet men from anywhere and we're in a very mobile society, and they can come down here, they pick them up," Cameron County Assistant District Attorney Brett Patillo said.

These investigations are also occurring at the federal level, according to Eric Flores, the assistant U.S. attorney with the McAllen division. 

“Recently, we prosecuted two smuggling ringleaders who smuggled over 2,500 people over a span of a year from as far south as Honduras all the way to Boston,” Flores said. “In some cases, we did see some exploitation there."

Federal cases taken by the U.S. Attorney's Office are being generated by local agencies, and Homeland Security Investigations.

“It started right here in Brownsville,” HSI Special Agent J.C. Alvarado said. “There were 33 Vietnamese nationals that we identified and linked to a human smuggling organization that were being smuggled by an individual in northwest Arkansas, and [the suspect] was outsourcing these Vietnamese to different parts of the country.”

Alvarado says in those cases, those being smuggled had to pay $20,000, and were forced to work at nail salons, massage parlors or restaurants.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline has tracked more than 9 thousand human trafficking cases in Texas since 2007 with 22,000 victims.

Alvarado says criminals are getting better at moving victims using counterfeit documents. On the digital front, changing practices in how apps and communications are used are making it hard to protect kids.

"All the apps that are being used has made it a lot easier for those that will exploit not only our children, but our families and friends,” Alvarado said.

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