Since 2021, more than 10,000 individuals have been apprehended for violating Texas smuggling laws. Among them are young Americans facing financial hardship who find themselves incarcerated, claiming they unknowingly fell into schemes orchestrated by international criminals.

Nathan Perrow never contemplated the repercussions of his decision to drive 350 miles from Houston to the border town of Del Rio after replying to a Snapchat ad seeking drivers in 2021. Perrow explains that he was promised $1,200 and a tank of gas to pick someone up and transport them to another location.

Upon his arrival, Perrow found no one waiting but instead saw a Texas Department of Public Safety vehicle with its lights flashing. Just three months after graduating high school, Perrow was arrested and charged with six counts of human smuggling, resulting in a three-month jail term.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Perrow told the Texas House Committee on State Affairs about answering the ad. “I just thought I was going to give them a ride and I was going to get paid.”

San Antonio defense attorney Mary Pietrazek has heard countless similar stories. Pietrazek has represented over 500 individuals in human smuggling cases since Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star was implemented in 2021. Since then, Abbott has signed Senate Bill 4 into law, which bumped the maximum sentence for human smuggling to 10 years.

“They don’t think at first that they’re doing anything wrong because when you think of smuggling, you think of putting someone in the back trunk of your car and smuggling across the border,” Pietrazek told . “They think, well, (the person) is already in the country, and so they don’t think they’re breaking the law. But they are.”

Who are smuggling organizations targeting on social media?

Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor at George Mason University specializing in organized crime and U.S.-Mexico relations, says criminal organizations use TikTok, Instagram and other platforms to target individuals either looking to cross the border or to get paid to help move migrants. Thirty-second videos show migrants in cars after crossing the border, celebrating a fresh start. Others display large stacks of cash used to lure in drivers.

“It’s not rocket science,” Correa-Cabera told . “It’s (used) because it’s the way people communicate.”

Defense attorneys maintain many of those arrested have never been in trouble. But because of the promise of money, which often ranges between $1,000 to $1,500 per passenger, respondents jump at the chance to participate.

Texas DPS Lt. Christopher Olivarez argues most respondents are not as innocent as they claim. Communications move from TikTok to encrypted apps like WhatsApp, where drivers are provided with coordinates and details of how much they will be paid to drive immigrants who crossed the border illegally to a designated drop-off spot.

Yet, Pietrazak maintains that in most of her clients’ cases, money is the determining factor for defendants, many of whom she says don’t fully grasp the severity of their actions. Yet, she acknowledges that 15% of her clients are repeat offenders, convinced they won’t get caught again if they tweak their strategy the second time.

According to Texas DPS statistics, between 48% and 52% of those arrested range from 20 to 27 years of age.

“It’s money they’re not used to seeing,” Pietrazak said. “It’s young kids, but it’s also people that are about to get evicted. It’s the mother who wants to be able to buy school supplies for her kids.”

Perrow testified that when he arrived in Del Rio, he pulled up to a fence and saw “illegals” on the other side. Perrow said no one was in his car when he was arrested, but claimed state troopers jumped the fence, rounded up immigrants, and “put them on me.”

Olivarez said he did not know the specifics of Perrow’s case. However, drivers who are arrested and charged under state smuggling laws are apprehended based on thorough investigations and evidence that will meet the threshold for a criminal conviction.

Yet, even before being charged, drivers immediately know they face serious consequences once their situations take a disastrous turn.

“It’s really a matter of panic,” Pietrazek said. “That’s generally the moment that they realize that something’s wrong.”

How do Texas state troopers and officials enforce the smuggling laws?

DPS statistics show that 10,163 people have been arrested and charged with smuggling as part of Operation Lone Star, resulting in 22,903 charges being filed.

Texas DPS’s Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division and Criminal Intelligence Division actively monitor social media platforms to help identify and disrupt human smuggling activity. This includes deceptive advertising used to target would-be drivers on the other side of the border.

Texas attorney Kristin Etter told the House committee in 2023 that the people advertising for drivers are often 5-6 people removed from the smuggling organization, which often confuses drivers who claim not to have knowledge of their criminal behavior.

“These criminal networks are increasingly targeting juveniles and financially vulnerable individuals, luring them in with the promise of quick money and manipulating them into participating in dangerous and illegal smuggling operations,” Olivarez said.

An Abbott spokesperson told that the state has “zero tolerance” for organizations that profit from human trafficking.

“Drug cartels and human traffickers have a clear disregard for human life as they smuggle people in high-speed pursuits and in dangerous conditions,” Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said.

Perrow told the Austin American-Statesman he was glad that he was not sentenced after the new Texas law increased the smuggling penalty. Despite his arrest detouring his plans to join the National Guard, Perrow testified he enrolled in an advanced trade school program to become a railroad repair worker after being released from jail.

Perrow did not respond to ’s requests for comment.

“If (SB 4) was in place when I was accused, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to better my life,” Perrow told the newspaper. “When I was (in jail), there were other guys my age in there for the same thing, just trying to make some money. I’m just grateful I got to get out and better my life because some of them didn’t.”