14 Migrants Found Locked in Tractor-Trailer at Immigration Checkpoint in Texas near Border

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents found a group of migrants locked inside a tractor-trailer at an immigration checkpoint in South Texas. The migrants were locked inside the trailer with no means of escape in the event of a crash or abandonment by the human smugglers.

Laredo North Station Border Patrol agents assigned to the Interstate 35 immigration checkpoint on November 11 observed a tractor-trailer approaching for inspection in the primary commercial lane, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials.

During the initial inspection, a Border Patrol K-9 reacted to an odor it is trained to detect indicating the possible presence of drug or human cargo in the trailer, officials reported. The agents referred the driver to a secondary inspection area.

The agents searched the trailer and found 14 migrants locked inside the trailer. The migrants had no way of escaping from the trailer in the event that human smugglers abandoned them or if a crash occurred.

The agents processed the 14 migrants and identified them as citizens of Mexico and Guatemala, officials stated.  They also arrested the driver, a U.S. citizen.

“We also continue to work with other governments, to ensure we deliver a strong message that our borders are not open, and to facilitate the return of their citizens or those with legal status in other countries,” Laredo Sector officials said in a written statement.

Elsewhere in the sector, Border Patrol agents and a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper arrested a wanted fugitive as he attempted to cross through the immigration checkpoint on Highway 83, Chief Patrol Agent Matthew Hudak said in the tweet posted above.