U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents located nearly two dozen migrants packed underneath a flatbed tractor-trailer in southwest Texas, authorities announced Tuesday.
Twenty people, including two children aged 10 and 15, were recovered from the cramped space, said Chief Border Patrol Agent Austin Skero. The inspection was initiated by a K-9 at a checkpoint near the Rio Grande, a hotbed for illegal crossings into the United States.
“With temperatures on the rise, smuggling attempts like these have a high potential to turn deadly,” Skero added.
BORDER PATROL NABS THREE MS-13 GANG MEMBERS IN SEPARATE INCIDENTS ACROSS TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA
Yesterday, a Del Rio Sector K9 alerted to this trailer at one of our checkpoints. An inspection located 2 children (ages 10 and 15) trapped under the trailer boards with 18 adults. With temperatures on the rise, smuggling attempts like these have a high potential to turn deadly. pic.twitter.com/Bf5X9oDijK
— Chief Patrol Agent Austin Skero (@USBPChiefDRT) April 13, 2021
Border Patrol did not immediately respond to a request for more information from the Washington Examiner.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly faced criticism for his handling of the surge at the U.S.-Mexico border. Law enforcement continues to apprehend large numbers of migrants, many of whom are unaccompanied children, as the number of those choosing to enter the country grows exponentially.
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Agents near the Rio Grande on Tuesday arrested 60 migrants, including one man who was allegedly armed with a long gun, after they disrupted two human smuggling operations. Another 60 people were apprehended on the same day when Border Patrol inspected two tractor-trailers. Eight were discovered during a crash, and 52 were located in a separate vehicle.
