Group of Migrants Not Screened for Coronavirus Found Locked in Trailer at Texas Checkpoint

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents found a large group of migrants who were locked inside a tractor-trailer. The agents disrupted the human smuggling attempt at the Interstate 35 immigration checkpoint located between Laredo and San Antonio.

Laredo North Station agents assigned to the Interstate 35 immigration checkpoint on April 5 observed a white tractor pulling a white trailer approaching for inspection. During an initial inspection and immigration interview, a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to an odor it is trained to detect, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials.

The agents directed the driver to a secondary inspection station where they conducted a physical search. When they opened the door of the trailer, the agents discovered 32 people who had been locked inside with no means of escape in the event of a crash or abandonment.

The agents conducted an immigration interview with the migrants and identified them as residents of Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The agents arrested all 32 migrants for being in the United States illegally. They also arrested the driver, a U.S. citizen, and seized the tractor-trailer.

Federal investigators will look into the human smuggling attempt. Frequently, investigators find information about where the migrants are held in stash houses after being smuggled across the border from Mexico.

“Despite the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, smugglers continue to endanger the lives of individuals they exploit and the health and safety of our Nation,” Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials said in a written statement. “U.S. Border Patrol agents strive to prevent the flow of illegal immigration and slow the spread of COVID-19.”

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX and Facebook.