120 Migrants, Plus Children, Found in Abandoned Trailer in Texas near Border

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents and local police officers discovered 120 migrants locked inside an abandoned tractor-trailer rig late last month. The group included five unaccompanied minors.

Laredo Sector Chief Patrol Agent Matthew Hudak tweeted photos showing a large group of migrants found in an abandoned tractor-trailer in Laredo, Texas, on August 28. Border Patrol agents and officers from the Laredo Police Department teamed up to rescue the 120 migrants locked inside the trailer.

The discovery began when a Laredo police officer found an abandoned tractor-trailer near Bob Bullock Loop and Crepusculo Drive. The officer called for assistance from Border Patrol.

A search of the trailer revealed 120 migrants trapped inside, officials stated. An immigration interview identified the migrants as citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. The agents identified five of the migrants as unaccompanied minors from Mexico and Honduras, officials stated.

Laredo North Station received information about a group of migrants marching through a ranch north of Laredo. The agents responded to the area and found the group of migrants. The agents identified one of the migrants as an unaccompanied minor from Mexico.

Officials coordinated with the consulates of Mexico and Honduras to return the children to their respective countries.

“The Laredo Sector Border Patrol cannot stress enough the dangers and risks that undocumented individuals, especially unaccompanied minors, place themselves in when commencing their illegal journey into the United States,” Laredo Sector officials said in a written statement. “Without a legal guardian, these minors subject themselves to human smugglers who place them in increased danger during the high temperatures of summer and will abandon them at the first sign of danger in remote areas.”