New Mexico authorities have filed charges against an individual for human smuggling following the discovery of 11 migrants who were locked inside a U-Haul truck on New Year’s Eve in Hurley.
The customs and Border Protection discovered the migrants at approximately 11:45 p.m. on December 31st. The incident was reported by the agency on January 7th. Eleven of the migrants were located in the rear of the rented truck, while one was found in the front passenger seat. All twelve individuals are currently undergoing processing in accordance with Title 8 regulations. These regulations govern immigration and nationality laws, overseeing the admission, status, and removal of individuals within the United States.
According to officials, the driver, who possessed a Mexican driver’s license, has been arrested and is now facing charges related to human smuggling (Border Report).
The Hurley Police Department, situated approximately 15 miles southeast of Silver City, successfully apprehended the vehicle and promptly contacted the Border Patrol for assistance. Sharing the update on social media, Border Patrol Chief Anthony “Scott” Good of the El Paso Sector confirmed the discovery of the migrants; however, he refrained from disclosing specific details.
According to Good, the incident demonstrated the extreme lengths that smugglers would go to in order to evade detection, even at the expense of endangering lives. The migrants who were found in the back of the truck had very limited access to fresh air and were trapped inside the rear compartment until law enforcement intervened.
The individuals who migrated were determined to be from Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras.
In a recent social media post, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens reported that last month, a house in El Paso was discovered to be housing 22 migrants by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
In August, Mexican authorities in Chihuahua City reported that they had successfully rescued 1,245 migrants from the clutches of criminal gangs over the course of the last seven months. These abducted migrants were typically confined in overcrowded stash houses, primarily located in Juarez, near the U.S. border with El Paso, Texas. Disturbingly, the Mexican officials revealed that the migrants were often deprived of basic necessities such as food and water throughout their captivity.
A group of migrants, who were aiming to reach the United States, unfortunately became targets of criminal gangs.
In July 2023, the Hope Border Institute published a report titled “Pain as a Strategy,” which shed light on the endangerment of migrants due to the actions of federal authorities in Mexico, Texas officials at the Rio Grande levee, and the temporary border closure imposed by the Biden administration on June 4 for asylum-seekers without appointments.
Once migrants arrive in Juarez, cartels frequently abduct them and detain them in stash houses, confiscating their belongings, including cell phones. The cartels subsequently reach out to the migrants’ families, demanding ransoms that can reach as high as $20,000.
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