Border Patrol Agents Find Migrants Locked in Furniture, Appliances at Texas Checkpoint
Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents found a group of migrants locked inside furniture and appliances. The discovery came at an interior immigration checkpoint located near the Texas-Mexico border.
Agents assigned to the U.S. Highway 83 immigration checkpoint located north of Laredo, Texa, on November 19 observed a Chevrolet Suburban towing a trailer approaching for inspection. A Border Patrol K-9 alerted to an odor it is trained to detect coming from the trailer, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials.
#USBP Cotulla agents are alerted by a #k9 to the presence of 13 individuals hidden among varied furniture items, mattresses, and home appliances. None of the individuals were wearing any personal protective equipment. #BorderSecurity@CBPSouthTexaspic.twitter.com/cEKV0gj1ly
— Chief Patrol Agent Matthew J. Hudak (@USBPChiefLRT) November 21, 2020
The agents referred the driver, a U.S. citizen, to the secondary inspection area for further investigation. Agents searched the trailer and found 13 migrants stashed inside furniture items including mattresses and home appliances. Agents found migrants trapped inside washing machines, dryers, and freezers.
“This incident again demonstrates the lack of regard smugglers have for the safety of the people they exploit for profit,” Laredo Sector officials said in a written statement. “The unsafe manner in which these individuals were being transported is despicable. The agents of the Laredo Sector will continue to work diligently targeting human smugglers who value monetary gain over human lives.”
During a press conference this week, CBP Acting Commissioner Mark Morgan told reporters migrants illegally entering the U.S. are putting the lives of all Americans at risk due to the spread of COVID-19, Breitbart Texas reported.
“They go through high COVID locations, often packed and jammed in overcrowded stash houses both in the United States and/or in Mexico,” Morgan explained, “or locked in tractor-trailers for days or often weeks. A journey in which they completely disregard even the most basic medical guidance to mitigate the spread of the deadly disease.”
“They’re telling us that their wants and needs are more important than your lives,” Morgan stated. “They’re telling us their own economic conditions are more important than the lives of American citizens and all of those they come in contact with during their deadly journey.”
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior news contributor for the Breitbart Texas-Border team. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday-morning talk show. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, Parler @BobPrice, and Facebook.