AUSTIN, TX – Eleven people were hospitalized and seven suspects were arrested Thursday after authorities discovered over two dozen migrants crammed into a hidden compartment of a trailer. The migrants had been transported from the border with minimal water and endured sweltering heat.
Acting on a tip-off about a smuggling operation, authorities tracked the trailer to a rural residence outside San Antonio, said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar. The residence, described as a dilapidated shack with holes in the floor and no water, housed a total of 26 migrants.
Of those found, 11 were taken to a hospital with heat-related and minor injuries. The migrants had been confined in the trailer’s secret compartment for three hours, during which temperatures soared into the high 90s, according to the National Weather Service.
While no specific details were provided about the hospitalized migrants’ conditions, Salazar assured that none were in life-threatening situations. “We think everybody is out of the woods, as far as losing their life,” he said.
This smuggling bust occurred just two days after President Joe Biden announced plans to implement significant restrictions on migrants seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Biden administration’s move aims to address immigration as a political issue ahead of the November elections.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, has long opposed the Biden administration’s immigration policies. Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, a multibillion-dollar state border security initiative, has led to legal battles with the federal government over measures such as river buoys and razor wire to deter migrants from crossing the Rio Grande. Texas has also transported tens of thousands of migrants to Democratic-led cities across the U.S.
San Antonio was previously the site of the nation’s deadliest human smuggling incident in June 2022, when 53 migrants, including eight children, died after being trapped in a sweltering semi-trailer. The trailer’s malfunctioning air-conditioning unit contributed to the tragedy.
All the migrants found Thursday appeared to be adults. While the nationalities of most were not immediately known, one woman from Guatemala told authorities she had paid $16,000 to be brought to the U.S. Sheriff Salazar attributed the operation to Mexican cartels, noting that bulletproof vests and rifles were discovered on the property. Some individuals attempted to flee but were apprehended.
“Clearly cartel related,” Salazar said. “This is the fault of the bloodthirsty organizations that are bringing them across and putting them in harm’s way.” He emphasized the difficulty in detecting the hidden compartment, stating, “You could be standing right there next to it and not know that thing contains 26 people. They’re hiding in plain sight.”