29 Migrants Found Locked in Belly-Dump Trailer at Texas Immigration Checkpoint near Border

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents found a group of migrants locked in a belly-dump trailer at an interior immigration checkpoint near Freer, Texas. None of the migrants wore personal protection equipment to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Freer Station Border Patrol agents assigned to the U.S. Highway 59 immigration checkpoint located west of Freer, Texas, on October 1 observed a tractor-trailer approaching for inspection. During the initial inspection, a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to the presence of drug or human cargo in the belly-dump trailer, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials.

The agents referred the driver, a U.S. citizen, to a secondary inspection station. Agents conducted a physical search of the trailer and found 29 people locked inside. Officials report that the human smugglers did not provide any personal protection equipment and that there was no way to maintain social distancing inside the trailer.

Following the search, the agents conducted an immediate medical screening on the 29 migrants. The agents identified all as being illegally present in the United States and having travelled from Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, officials stated.

The agents then placed the U.S. citizen driver under arrest and seized the vehicle. Homeland Security Investigations special agents will take over the investigation of the human smuggling operation.

“Human smugglers continue to have no regard for the safety and health of the people they exploit for profit,” Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials said in a written statement. “With a noted increase in COVID-19 infections among detainees, the transporting of large groups of people without PPE in close dangerous quarters such as this not only endangers the individuals, but the safety of our Nation as well. The Laredo Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol focuses on its enduring mission priorities of countering terrorism, combatting transnational crime, securing the border, facilitating lawful trade, protecting revenue, and facilitating lawful travel.”