Attorney Arrested At Border For Human Smuggling Claimed To Be Federal Immigration Magistrate

According to Galveston County Constable Jimmy Fullen, licensed Texas attorney and allegedly self-described federally appointed immigration magistrate Timothy Daniel Japhet was arrested in the Del Rio area of Kinney County, TX, which is directly west of San Antonio and Uvalde. Constable Fullen explained to The Texan that Japhet told the arresting deputy that he was a federal immigration magistrate. “The deputy took him into custody with a Texas Department of Public Safety officer, Fullen explained, and accused Japhet of resisting arrest.”

According to Constable Fullen’s Facebook post, Japhet was arrested for “smuggling of a human and resisting arrest.” Japhet contradicts the Constable, however, claiming to local news that he was “cited on four cases of human smuggling but has not been indicted or formally charged,” that he was not cited for resisting arrest, and that he is not a “federally appointed immigration magistrate.” Japhet claims the only immigration-related law that he practices is “property-based when someone owns property in Mexico.” The Texas Bar website lists Japhet as “eligible to practice,” declaring his specialties to include business, environmental, government/administrative, and energy resource law. After spending 6 days in jail, he was released on $40,000 bond “until they indict [him].”

His story is that he was driving a rental car on his way to gamble at the Lucky Eagle Casino in Eagle Pass when he stopped to let his dog use the bathroom. He was then approached by a man asking if Japhet would give him and his friend a ride. After agreeing, Japhet says 2 more men “suddenly appeared.” Japhet claims he was driving fast and erratically in order to get the attention of law enforcement to help him because he felt uncomfortable with the situation.

I’m curious whether he thought that claiming to be a federally appointed immigration magistrate would make the deputy think twice about arresting him for smuggling four people across the border? Like it would somehow be totally fine as long as he was a federally appointed immigration magistrate? And can we take a moment to appreciate the astounding stupidity of this man who may or may not actually be a federal magistrate but who is definitely a practicing attorney? The guy really was dumb enough to let 4 strangers in a foreign country hop in his car and drive across the border in the middle of an unprecedented illegal immigration crisis? His license should be revoked just for being an idiot.