50 migrants found dead in abandoned trailer in Texas in ‘horrific human tragedy’

Americas, News, US June 29, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

At least 50 migrants died after being stuck inside a scorching-hot semi-trailer in San Antonio, U.S. and Mexican officials said on Tuesday.

The bodies of at least 46 people were found on Monday in the truck. At least 16 others, including children, were taken to hospitals alive but suffering from heat exhaustion and dehydration. Four died later in the hospital.

The driver of the truck and two other people were arrested. U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas said the truck had passed through a Border Patrol checkpoint northeast of Laredo, Texas, on Interstate 35.

The bodies were discovered Monday afternoon on the outskirts of San Antonio when a city worker heard a cry for help from the truck. “This is nothing short of a horrific human tragedy,” San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at a news briefing near the scene.

This is one of the deadliest human trafficking incidents in recent history. The death count is reported to be the highest ever from a smuggling incident in the United States.

“This is a horror that surpasses anything we’ve experienced before,” said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. “And it’s sadly a preventable tragedy.”

President Joe Biden called the deaths “horrifying and heartbreaking.” Biden said in a statement that “Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry.”

The authorities are still working to identify the victims. At least 22 victims were from Mexico, seven from Guatemala, and two from Honduras, according to Roberto Velasco Álvarez, the head of the North America department in Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department.

*^{A group of migrants in Northern Mexico approaches the border to enter the USA in an operation accompanied by IOM staff. (Image Credit: IOM/Alejandro Cartagena)}*

Attempts to cross the U.S. border from Mexico have claimed thousands of lives in both countries in recent years. There are an estimated 3 million illegal entries into the United States every year and most migrants are smuggled in trucks across the border, according to UNODC. Most people crossing into the United States from Mexico are from other countries in Latin America including Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, fleeing violence and lack of work opportunities in their countries.

At least 650 migrants died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in 2021, more than in any other year since the International Organization for Migration (IMO) began tracking the data in 2014. At least 3,575 deaths have been documented on the United States-Mexico border since 2014, according to IMO.

The IOM and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency called for a vigorous investigation and prosecution of all those responsible for the deaths of dozens of people in the tractor-trailer in Texas.

“This is not the first nor will it be the last such tragedy as people smugglers continue to prey on migrants and other vulnerable people who are only seeking a better life for themselves and their families,” said Michele Klein-Solomon, IOM Regional Director for Central and North America and the Caribbean. “We mourn with the families the loss of their loved ones and call on authorities on both sides of the border to vigorously investigate and bring to justice all those who, through their callous disregard for human life, contributed to this terrible incident.”