Immigrants found dead inside a tractor-trailer in Texas' San Antonio
3 min read 28 Jun 2022, 08:20 AM ISTTraveling by tractor-trailer is a common though dangerous means by which many undocumented migrants arrive in the United States.
PremiumAt least 46 immigrants were found dead inside a tractor-trailer on the southwest side of San Antonio in Texas, news agency ANI has reported citing the US Media.
Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard called the suffocation of the migrants in the truck the "tragedy in Texas" on Twitter and said the local consulate was en route to the scene, though the nationalities of the victims had not been confirmed. A U.S. law enforcement official said there were more than 40 people dead without providing additional details.
The truck was found next to railroad tracks in a remote area on the city's southern outskirts, San Antonio's KSAT television reported.
There have been a record number of migrant crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months, which has sparked criticisms of the immigration policies of U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat.
Abbott placed the blame for the deaths on Biden's policies on Twitter, saying they "show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law."
Of the 16 taken to hospitals with heat-related illnesses, 12 were adults and four were children, said Fire Chief Charles Hood. The patients were hot to the touch and dehydrated, and no water was found in the trailer, he said.
Three people were taken into custody, but it was unclear if they were absolutely connected with human trafficking, Police Chief William McManus said.
Those in the trailer were part of a presumed migrant smuggling attempt into the United States, and the investigation was being led by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, McManus said.
Those in the trailer were in a presumed migrant smuggling attempt in South Texas, according to an official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the information had not been authorized for public release.
It may be the deadliest tragedy among thousands who have died attempting to cross the U.S. border from Mexico in recent decades. Ten migrants died in 2017 after being trapped inside a truck that was parked at a Walmart in San Antonio. In 2003, 19 migrants were found in a sweltering truck southeast of San Antonio.
Big rigs emerged as a popular smuggling method in the early 1990s amid a surge in U.S. border enforcement in San Diego and El Paso, Texas, which were then the busiest corridors for illegal crossings.
Before that, people paid small fees to mom-and-pop operators to get them across a largely unguarded border. As crossing became exponentially more difficult after the 2001 terror attacks in the U.S., migrants were led through more dangerous terrain and paid thousands of dollars more.
Heat poses a serious danger, particularly when temperatures can rise severely inside vehicles. Weather in the San Antonio area was mostly cloudy Monday, but temperatures approached 100 degrees.
Traveling by tractor-trailer is a common though dangerous means by which many undocumented migrants arrive in the United States.
Earlier, the Biden administration, reacting to a federal court ruling in Texas, suspended an order that had focused resources for the arrest and deportation of immigrants on those who are considered a threat to public safety and national security.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Saturday it will abide by the decision issued this month, even though it “strongly disagrees" and is appealing it.
Immigrant advocates and experts on Monday said the suspension of Biden’s order will only sow fear among immigrant communities.
Many living in the country illegally will now be afraid to leave their homes out of concern they’ll be detained, even if they’re otherwise law-abiding, said Steve Yale-Loehr, an immigration law professor at Cornell University.
Prioritizing whom to arrest and deport is a necessity, he said. “We simply don’t have enough ICE agents to pick up and put into proceedings everyone who violates our immigration law," Yale-Loehr said.
(With inputs from agencies)
