Border Patrol discovers 60 undocumented immigrants in chilled trailer

Border Patrol agents discover undocumented immigrants in a frigid and locked trailer in the Rio Grande Valley in Texas. Photo courtesy of U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Aug. 22 (UPI) — U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents discovered 60 undocumented immigrants inside a locked and frigid trailer in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas.

The agency said in a news release that agents conducted an inspection of the truck Saturday morning.

A canine alerted them to the discovery of the immigrants lying on and within pallets of broccoli and a thin sheet of ice. The truck’s temperature was 49 degrees Fahrenheit.

The group of 22 Guatemalans, 17 Mexicans, 13 Salvadorans and eight Hondurans declined medical treatment and were transported to the Border Patrol Station and processed in Falfurrias, which is 117 miles north of the Brownsville-Mexican border.

The driver, a Guatemalan national, was arrested and faces federal charges of smuggling.

Agents cautioned would-be migrants from trusting human smugglers.

“RGV Sector Border Patrol urges immigrants against entrusting callous smugglers and we continuously warn against the dangers of people crossing illegally into the United States through dangerous environmental conditions and cases such as this where smugglers jeopardize the lives of aliens by locking them in tractor trailers,” the release said.

“Criminal activity like this will also lead to serious consequences for truck drivers who engage in smuggling,” RGV Sector Chief Patrol Agent Manuel Padilla Jr. said in the release.

The federal agency asked anyone who sees suspicious activity to call 800-863-9382.

Last month, eight people were found dead and another two died later, among 100 people discovered in a tractor-trailer parked outside a San Antonio Walmart without air conditioning.

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