According to a post on the Mills County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page:
Sheriff Clint Hammonds reported that on Thursday, April 1, Mills County Sheriff’s Office arrested an individual for Human Smuggling. At approximately 4:30 PM Deputies stopped a White 2008 Yukon on US 84 east in Center City for traffic violation. Deputies approached the vehicle and made contact with the driver who did not have a driver’s license. Deputies observed 21 men inside the vehicle and determined that all the individuals were from Guatemala and were in the United States illegally.
Deputies assisted by Texas Highway Patrol and Texas Parks and Wildlife Wardens secured the individuals and began interviewing the people. It was determined that everyone had paid to be brought the United States and all were on their way to Georgia. All of the people except for the driver did not have any money or cellular phones because they had been taken away from them.
The driver, 21-year-old Pedro Roda-Lucas, admitted to smuggling the individuals and he was to be paid $450 a person when they arrived in Georgia. Cash and the vehicle were seized and Lucas was placed under arrest for Smuggling of Persons a third-degree felony.
Deputies contacted the United States Border Patrol and were advised that because President Bidens new orders on immigration that they would not be taking them into custody. We were told to let them go if we did not have any offenses against them. The Fellowship Baptist Church came on location with vans and helped move the remaining 20 men to the church to get them water and food so that Deputies could finish interviewing.
I want to say Thank You to Stewart Farrell and the members that showed up from the church to assist we Greatly Appreciate everything you did for these men and our law enforcement personnel.
According to Mills County online jail records, Roda-Lucas has a $100,000 bond for Smuggling of Persons, a $3,000 bond for Failing to Identify Giving False/Fictitious Information and a $3,000 bond for Driving with Invalid License.