Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers discovered 17 migrants hidden inside a cloned semi-trailer in rural southwest Texas on Thursday, potentially saving their lives as temperatures approached 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
The semi-truck, which had fraudulent markings resembling those of the popular Lowe’s home improvement chain, was driven by a man from Mississippi. He now faces enhanced charges for endangering the migrants.
The incident occurred in Kinney County near Brackettville, Texas. During a routine vehicle stop, troopers found 13 adult men and four adult women crammed into the trailer. Many of the migrants were severely dehydrated, drenched in sweat, and experiencing numbness in their legs due to being confined in a narrow, three-foot-wide space. Several required immediate medical attention.
The driver of the truck is expected to face heightened state charges related to human smuggling, given the dangerous conditions and the injuries sustained by the migrants.
This event echoes the tragic June 2022 incident in San Antonio, where 53 migrants died in a similar smuggling attempt. In that case, 65 migrants were found abandoned in a semi-trailer near an industrial park. Forty-eight were dead upon discovery, and five more died at local medical facilities in the following days.
So far, four individuals have pleaded guilty for their roles in the San Antonio tragedy. Recently, Rigoberto Ramon Miranda-Orozco, a Guatemalan national, was arrested in Guatemala in connection with the 2022 incident. The Department of Justice announced his arrest following a collaborative effort with Guatemalan authorities. Miranda is suspected of smuggling 21 Guatemalan nationals in the deadly event and is alleged to have charged between $12,000 and $15,000 per victim for transportation to the United States.