35 Migrants Found in Tractor-Trailer at South Texas Checkpoint

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents disrupted a human smuggling attempt at an interior immigration checkpoint in South Texas on July 13. The interdiction led to the arrest of 35 migrants who were locked in a dangerously hot trailer.

Agents assigned to the U.S. Highway 83 immigration checkpoint on the evening of July 13 observed a white tractor-trailer approaching for inspection. During the initial interview, the driver and passenger admitted there were people locked inside the trailer, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials.

The agents opened the trailer and found 35 people locked inside the trailer with no means of escape in the event of a crash or abandonment by the human smugglers. Officials report the temperature inside the trailer reached a temperature in excess of 126 degrees Fahrenheit.

Agents interviewed and screened the 35 migrants and determined all were illegally present in the United States. Officials identified them as coming to the U.S. from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

The agents placed the driver and passenger, both U.S. citizens, under arrest. The subjects and illegal immigrants were turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations agents for further investigation.

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.  U.S. Border Patrol agents strive to prevent the flow of illegal immigration and slow the spread of COVID-19.

Laredo Sector officials report a spike in the number of illegal immigrants being smuggled in tractor-trailer rigs in recent months.

Earlier this month, agents recovered 66 migrants at the Interstate 35 checkpoint from five different countries locked inside a trailer, Breitbart Texas reported. An immigration interview identified the illegal immigrants as having come to the United States from Brazil, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico, officials reported.

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.