Human Smugglers Pack 3 Children, 4 Adults in Trunk of Cars in Summer Heat

Human smugglers packed children and adults into the trunk of two cars during the peak of afternoon heat in southern Arizona. Border Patrol agents rescued the illegal immigrants from the cars.

U.S. Border Patrol agents working an I-19 immigration checkpoint near Nogales, Arizona stopped two separate smuggling events where people had been packed into the trunks of cars, information provided to Breitbart Texas by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) revealed. The human smuggling “cargo” was packed into the cars which did not have emergency trunk releases inside the trunk. The people had no way out if they began to suffer heat exhaustion or if the vehicle was in an accident.

Agents working the checkpoint referred a white Pontiac sedan to a secondary inspection station on Tuesday at about 5:45 p.m. Three people, including a 16-year-old juvenile, were found in the trunk. CBP described the occupants as Mexican nationals. The driver, a U.S. citizen, was arrested and is being processed for prosecution.

A second Pontiac sedan approached the checkpoint about a half-hour later, CBP officials stated. A secondary inspection of the vehicle revealed four more illegal immigrants including two children under the age of 14 who had been packed into the trunk. The occupants of the trunk were from Guatemala.

The packing of humans into trunks of cars like luggage is very dangerous. Victims can die from the exposure to heat which can easily reach temperatures of 125 degrees, CBP officials said. There is also the possibility that the people could be left to die in the trunk if the coyote becomes afraid of being caught, or the people could be severely injured or killed if the vehicle is rear-ended in a collision. The nationality of the driver in this case was not disclosed by CBP.

“This is another example of the callous disregard for life indicative of criminal organizations,” Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent Paul Beeson said in the written statement. “If not for the actions of these Border Patrol agents, seven people including three children could have easily lost their lives at the hands of unscrupulous smugglers.”

Over 230 Border Patrol agents are trained as emergency medical technicians and are trained to provide life-saving actions in the event they find someone in distress from the heat and lack of water.