Human smuggling continues to put lives in peril and is the most dangerous method currently used. Temperatures in the region steadily rise beyond 100 degrees Fahrenheit, essentially overwhelming the human contents of the trailer in the heat. In a tractor trailer, where there is little ventilation, heat exhaustion kills.
On Friday, La Salle County Sheriff deputies responded to frantic 911 calls from migrants being smuggled in a semi-tractor trailer near Encinal, Texas. Horrified dispatchers could hear screams from migrants trapped inside the closed trailer, which was traveling north and away from the border on Interstate 35. The calls were tracked by the 911 operators between Encinal and Cotulla,Texas. Officers were then dispatched from multiple agencies, finally locating an abandoned tractor-trailer and began rescue operations, providing emergency treatment for approximately 30 illegal migrants.
It appears as though some migrants fled from the vehicle after it was abandoned by the driver. The source says the vehicle, a commercial tractor-trailer, was finally located near Artesia Wells after a multi-agency search. One migrant inside the trailer and another outside were declared dead by a justice of the peace. Authorities believe that as many as 150 to 200 migrants may have been smuggled in the container with 111 apprehended by law enforcement.
These apprehensions were made on Saturday, several miles from the incident at a rest area on Interstate 35. Apparently, the driver was not found and the case was referred to the Department of Homeland Security Investigations office (HSI).
Known by law enforcement as a major smuggling corridor for humans, narcotics, and southbound weapons, La Salle County sits on a major U.S. Interstate. Stretching from Laredo, Texas, 1,500 miles to Duluth, Minnesota, the route sees at least 200,000 vehicles per day in this area, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
The money made by these smugglers, is what drives them to seek those daring to come to the United States in this horrible way. It continues to be tragic, that lives are subjected to the extremes of heat and suffocation, costing these illegals their very lives, when they have likely spent a life-time of savings to take this chance. Our borders would not be in such disarray, and lives could be spared, if we had an administration that discouraged illegal migration to begin with. This ongoing circumstance is a prominent black eye on the face of America.
“Above all, we value the dignity of every human life, protect the rights of every person, and share the hope of every soul to live in freedom. That is who we are. Those are the priceless ties that bind us together as nations, as allies, and as a civilization.”
-Former President Donald Trump