26 Migrants Found Packed in Work Van near Border in Arizona

Tucson Sector Border Patrol agents responded to a dangerous human smuggling incident where 26 migrants were packed into a work van. These types of incidents make the vehicle unstable and frequently end in deadly crashes.

Arizona Department of Public Safety troopers carried out a traffic stop on a commercial work van with tinted windows traveling on Interstate 10 near Wilcox, Arizona. Wilcox Station Border Patrol agents responded to a request for assistance when the trooper found 26 migrants packed inside the van, according to a tweet from Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent Sabri Dikman.

Agents conducted an immigration interview and identified the 26 migrants as being illegally present in the United States, the chief stated.

One day earlier, Dikman tweeted photographs of another incident where 12 people were packed into a sedan designed to carry five passengers. The Sonita Station agents stopped the sedan near Nogales, Arizona.

Overloaded vehicles used in human smuggling schemes frequently lead to deadly crashes as drivers are unable to control the vehicle.

In August, a human smuggler killed 10 migrants and injured 20 others in a deadly roll-over crash where more than 30 people were packed in an overloaded passenger van, Breitbart Texas reported. The driver of the vehicle was unable to control the van while attempting to make a turn. The vehicle was not being pursued by police at the time of the crash, investigators stated.

In March, 13 migrants died in a human smuggling incident where 25 people were packed into an SUV near Holtville, California. The driver was not able to stop the overloaded vehicle and pulled out in front of a tractor-trailer.

That same month, a roll-over crash in West Texas led to federal charges being filed against the driver. Two migrants died during the crash as the driver attempted to avoid being arrested by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper.