80 Migrants Found Locked in Tractor-Trailer at Border Checkpoint in Texas

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents rescued a group of 80 migrants locked inside a tractor-trailer by a human smuggler. The agents found the migrants during an inspection at an interior immigration checkpoint in Texas.

Agents assigned to the Interstate 35 immigration checkpoint on June 14 observed a tractor-trailer approaching for inspection, according to information obtained from Border Patrol officials. During an initial interview, a Border Patrol K-9 alerted to an odor it is trained to detect.

The agents referred the driver to a secondary inspection area where agents conducted a non-intrusive inspection of the trailer. The security equipment detected what appeared to be people inside the trailer.

Agents unlocked the trailer and found 80 migrants inside the trailer. The migrants had been locked inside with no means of escape in the event of a crash or being abandoned by smugglers. Temperatures inside trailers can reach more than 120 degrees this time of year.

Agents processed the migrants and identified them as citizens of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. After providing medical screening, officials transported the migrants to the Border Patrol station for processing.

Agents also arrested the driver and processed him for possible prosecution by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas.

Breitbart Texas reports extensively on the extremely dangerous smuggling practice of packing migrants like cargo inside trailers.

In May, Rio Grande Valley Sector agents found a group of 67 migrants packed inside a load of onions, Breitbart Texas reported.

One month earlier, Laredo Sector agents found nearly 500 migrants in nine-separate tractor-trailer smuggling incidents during a one-week period.

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.