 |
| Photo Credit: AP. |
About forty-six migrants were found dead after they were abandoned in a tractor trailer in San Antonio, according to The Associated Press. The migrants who were smuggled across the border from Mexico to the U.S. may have died as a result of severe heat waves in Texas. Another sixteen people were hospitalized including four children.
The
Associated Press reported that a city worker heard a baby crying for help on a
lonely San Antonio back road shortly before 6 p.m. Monday and discovered the
gruesome scene, Police Chief William McManus said. The remains were packed in
body bags which spread on the ground near the trailer while other bodies
remained inside the vehicle.
San Antonio
Mayor Ron Nirenberg reportedly said the 46 who died had “families who were likely
trying to find a better life,” according to The Associated Press.
“This is
nothing short of a horrific human tragedy,” Nirenberg said.
Thousands of
migrants continue to surge from Latin America into the U.S. from the Mexican
border in what former President Donald Trump called an “invasion”. The migrants
who are seeking a better life in the U.S. often employ the services of drug
gangs and other smugglers who pack them into trucks to make the hard crossing.
Most of the
migrants are unaccompanied minors whose number now runs into millions in the
U.S. Some of them who are known as dreamers campaigned fervently in the Trump
years to be given citizenship following plans by the former President to cancel
their status.
A statement
from White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre who spoke to reporters
aboard Air Force One said President Joe Biden was “closely monitoring the
absolutely horrific and heartbreaking reports” from San Antonio, according to
The Associated Press.
“Our prayers
are with those who tragically lost their lives, their loved ones as well as
those still fighting for their lives. We’re also grateful for the swift work of
federal, state and local first responders,” Jean-Pierre said Tuesday. It I not
clear the circumstances surrounding their abandonment and how long they spent
on the road.
According to
The Associated Press, 22 of the migrants are from Mexico, 7 are from Guatemala
and two are Hoduras, Roberto Velasco Álvarez, head of the North America
department in Mexico’s Foreign Relations Department, said on Twitter.
“Our
condolences,” he tweeted. “All responsible will be brought to justice.”
Bexar County
Judge Nelson Wolff, the county’s top elected official said Tuesday that authorizes
believe the truck appeared to come from Laredo, a border city that is more than
150 miles (241 kilometer) south, according to The Associated Press.
“They had
just parked it on the side of the road,” Wolff said. “Apparently had mechanical
problems and left it there. The sheriff thinks it came across from Laredo.”