San Antonio

2022 - 6 - 29

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Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

At Least 46 Migrants Found Dead in San Antonio (The New York Times)

Some 22 Mexicans, seven Guatemalans and two Hondurans were identified among the dead, Mexico's Foreign Minister, Marcelo Ebrard, said on Tuesday on Twitter.

“The plight of migrants seeking refuge is always a humanitarian crisis,” the mayor said. In May, agents apprehended a record high of more than 239,000 migrants along the entire border. Agents from Homeland Security Investigations, a unit specialized in smuggling, were collecting evidence inside the trailer on Monday, officials said. The deaths came as state officials are bracing for a new surge in illegal crossings. Three people have been taken into custody, the police said. At least 16 others, including children, were taken to hospitals alive but suffering from apparent heat exhaustion and dehydration.

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Image courtesy of "Axios"

46 migrants found dead inside tractor-trailer in San Antonio (Axios)

46 migrants found dead inside tractor-trailer in San Antonio · "They were suffering from heat stroke, heat exhaustion. There were no signs of water in the ...

But this is one of the deadliest border incidents involving migrants to occur en masse in modern history, per AP. "We're not supposed to open up a truck and see stacks of bodies in there. There were no signs of water in the vehicle," Hood said. Those figures were expected to rise again. None of us come to work imagining that." Three people had been taken into custody and the matter was investigated by federal authorities, the officials said.

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Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Death toll rises to 50 in San Antonio migrant tractor-trailer tragedy (The Washington Post)

The number of migrants dead in a suspected smuggling operation rose to 50 Tuesday, the Mexican consulate reported, a day after dozens of bodies were found ...

Eight migrants died in the trailer and two died at a hospital. State records indicate a man in Alamo, Tex., is associated with those numbers — but his son-in-law, Isaac Limon, said that whoever ran the smuggling operation fraudulently printed those figures on the truck. Immigration advocates say federal border policies are pushing people to make extreme choices and put their lives in the hands of criminals. Sad to say, but he’s a bit of a victim, too, because people believe it was him.” The trailer door was ajar when law enforcement arrived but those inside were too weak to get themselves out, Hood said. All were in the country illegally, according to federal investigators. U.S. Border Patrol agents are finding increasing numbers of people dead in ranches, desert and brushland across South and West Texas after being left behind by smugglers, injured or falling behind their group. Williams was sentenced to 34 years in prison. Police Chief William McManus said three people were in custody but their alleged connection to the smuggling attempt is not yet clear. CBP made 239,416 arrests along the border last month, a 2 percent increase from April, according to the totals. Guatemala’s President Alejandro Giammattei described the tragedy as “unforgiveable” in a tweet. Similar fatal cases showed temperatures under such conditions could rise to above 173 degrees inside the trailer.

Statement by President Biden on the Tragic Loss of Life in San ... (The White House)

The tragic loss of life in San Antonio, Texas that took place yesterday is horrifying and heartbreaking. Our prayers are with those who lost their lives,

In Los Angeles two weeks ago, I announced that the United States has launched a first-of-its kind anti-smuggling campaign with our regional partners. The tragic loss of life in San Antonio, Texas that took place yesterday is horrifying and heartbreaking. Our prayers are with those who lost their lives, their loved ones, as well as those still fighting for their lives.

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Image courtesy of "Texas Tribune"

Death toll in San Antonio migrant tragedy reaches 51 including five ... (Texas Tribune)

Of the 16 migrants found alive in the trailer on the city's southwest side, five have since died.

Biden said the effort has resulted in more than 2,400 arrests in its first three months "and that work will only intensify in the months ahead." In a tweet, Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei called for tougher criminal penalties for human smugglers: “It is inexcusable that innocent lives continue to be lost to migrant smuggling! San Antonio officials said Tuesday that the number of migrants who have died after being trapped in a tractor-trailer on Monday has reached 51 after another migrant died at a local hospital. If there was such a policy as open borders, we wouldn't have had over 50 human lives trying to enter this country the way they did. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard tweeted that the dead include 22 Mexicans, seven Guatemalans and two Hondurans. Officials are still trying to determine the identities and nationalities of some of the victims; Bexar County Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores said 34 of the victims have been identified so far. But the cloned truck does not bear the company’s logo, as the business’ other trucks do.

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Image courtesy of "Politico"

Death toll in abandoned trailer in San Antonio rises to 51 (Politico)

The death count was the highest ever from a smuggling incident in the United States.

Migrants — largely from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — have been expelled more than 2 million times under the pandemic-era rule in effect since March 2020 that denies a chance to seek asylum. More than 50 migrants were found alive in a trailer in 2018, driven by a man who said he was to be paid $3,000 and was sentenced to more than five years in prison. Authorities think the truck discovered Monday had mechanical problems when it was left next to a railroad track in an area of San Antonio surrounded by auto scrapyards that brush up against a busy freeway, Wolff said. “They were suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion,” Hood said. Before that, people paid small fees to mom-and-pop operators to get them across a largely unguarded border. Most of the dead were males, he said. In December, more than 50 died when a semitrailer filled with migrants rolled over on a highway in southern Mexico. In October, Mexican authorities reported finding 652 migrants packed into six trailers near the U.S. border. Other incidents have occurred long before migrants reached the U.S. border. Migrants were stopped nearly 240,000 times in May, up by one-third from a year ago. Forty-six people were found dead at the scene, authorities said. He said the truck had passed through a Border Patrol checkpoint northeast of Laredo, Texas, on Interstate 35. Hours later, body bags lay spread on the ground.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Coast Guard school and San Antonio: Tuesday's best photos (The Guardian)

Main image: San Antonio, US Members of law enforcement investigate a tractor trailer. Photograph: Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images. Tue 28 Jun 2022 07.54 EDT ...

The search for survivors continuesPhotograph: Alessio Mamo/The Guardian Facebook Twitter El Espinal, ColombiaPeople attend a candlelight vigil after at least seven people were killed and more than 317 injured when a bullfighting arena collapsedPhotograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Facebook Twitter Sydney, AustraliaPolice officers detain a protester during a rally by climate activist group Blockade AustraliaPhotograph: Flavio Brancaleone/AAP Facebook Twitter Mumbai, IndiaRescue workers carry a boy who was rescued from the rubble at the site of a collapsed residential building in MumbaiPhotograph: Niharika Kulkarni/Reuters Facebook Twitter San Antonio, USMembers of law enforcement investigate a tractor trailer in San Antonio Texas. According to reports, at least 46 people, believed to be migrant workers from Mexico, were found dead in the abandoned trailer. Over a dozen victims were found alive, suffering from heatstroke and taken to local hospitalsPhotograph: Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images Facebook Twitter Brandenburg, GermanyJosef Schütz covers his face as he sits in court. Coast Guard school and San Antonio: Tuesday’s best photosShare on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via Email The Guardian’s picture editors select photo highlights from around the worldGuy LaneMain image: San Antonio, US Members of law enforcement investigate a tractor trailer.

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Image courtesy of "TIME"

Death Toll in San Antonio Migrant Smuggling Tragedy Climbs to 51 ... (TIME)

The tragedy is allegedly the result of people smuggling over the U.S.-Mexico border as the U.S. reports record encounters with border agents.

“Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political grandstanding around tragedy, and my Administration will continue to do everything possible to stop human smugglers and traffickers from taking advantage of people who are seeking to enter the United States between ports of entry,” Biden said. But the people who have survived who are in hospital, we’re sure that they will be treated with the care most deserved of people who have suffered so much.” “We will continue to address the serious public safety threat posed by human smuggling organizations and their reckless disregard for the health and safety of those smuggled.” Over the same period of time, Congress has failed to pass meaningful immigration reform, making it increasingly difficult to immigrate to the U.S. legally. Smugglers are aware of this, Meissner says, and will often guide migrants through routes that evade border officials, but put migrants in greater danger. Advocates began raising concerns that some families may fear coming forward to claim their dead loved one’s remains or participate in the investigation because of their immigration status. Advocates for migrants say the policy— which uses Title 42 of U.S. Code—is driving people to increasingly desperate and illegal methods to enter the U.S. “HSI continues its enforcement efforts to ensure the safety and well-being of our communities,” a spokesperson with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the DHS body that oversees HSI, told TIME in a statement. The San Antonio Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) also arrived. Fifty one people have now died after a semi truck trailer was found baking in the San Antonio, Texas heat on Monday night. No signs of water in the vehicle. It was a refrigerated tractor trailer, but there was no visible working A/C unit on that rig.” He added that the survivors were too weak to help themselves out of the semi truck, but were conscious.

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

46 migrants have been found dead inside a semi-truck in San ... (CNN)

At least 46 people have been found dead inside of a semi-truck in San Antonio on Monday, according to authorities, in a scene that Mayor Ron Nirenberg ...

There was no sign of water in the refrigerated tractor trailer and no visible working air conditioning unit, he said. And we have 16 folks who are fighting for their lives in the hospital." The worker found a trailer with doors partially opened and saw a number of people deceased inside, McManus said.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

Texas migrant deaths 'a horrific human tragedy', says San Antonio ... (The Guardian)

Discovery of 50 people dead in a trailer prompts outpouring of compassion but governor bucks trend by blaming deaths on Biden.

If the border were not closed, people would not be risking everything to try to sneak across, she argued. They show the deadly consequences of his refusal to enforce the law.” “The fact of the matter is [that] the border is closed,” Jean-Pierre said.

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Image courtesy of "CNN"

San Antonio migrant truck deaths: 51 people have died - CNN (CNN)

A distant cry led a worker to a tractor-trailer abandoned on a desolate country road under the blazing Texas sun on the outskirts of San Antonio Monday ...

Investigators at the scene traced the Texas registration plate on the semi-truck and to a residence in San Antonio, the affidavit said. Since October, more than 14,000 searches and rescues have occurred along the border with Mexico, according to US Customs and Border Protection -- including those from dangerous water crossings. Refrigerated semi-trucks are insulated and meant to keep the temperatures stable, Betancourt said, but "if it's carrying something hot inside, it won't let the heat escape. Felipe Betancourt Jr., co-owner of trucking company in Alamo, Texas, told CNN the semitruck abandoned on Monday used the same federal and state identifying numbers as one of his vehicles. from heat-related conditions in a tractor-trailer discovered at a San Antonio Walmart about three miles northeast of the latest incident. Three people were taken into police custody away from the trailer, Chief McManus said. "I didn't know them," she told CNN of the victims. Sixteen survivors -- 12 adults and four children -- were rushed to local hospitals. "In the past, smuggling organizations were mom and pop," Larrabee told CNN. "Now, they are organized and tied in with the cartels. The interstate stretches from Laredo, Texas, to Duluth, Minnesota, near the Canadian border. Inside, he saw the bodies, the chief said. The road runs parallel to I-35, a major north-south route in the central United States for traffic and commerce from the southern border.

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Image courtesy of "The Guardian"

'A free land for everyone': San Antonio residents mourn tragic loss of ... (The Guardian)

It was the deadliest known human smuggling incident in the United States. Police found fifty people from Mexico and Central America dead inside a truck trailer, ...

At the scene in San Antonio he displayed a three-panel mural he started in Del Rio, Texas, in 2021, when some 15,000 Haitians encamped at the border. The trends towards stricter policies and increased enforcement will only force migrants to take more drastic actions, especially as humanitarian conditions deteriorate in parts of Central America and Mexico. But despite the hopeful rhetoric, they haven’t achieved any substantial rollback of the previous administration’s approach, disappointing immigration advocates. We need to have control,” he said. He also entered this country without formal documentation as a teenager in the 1970s to pick crops. His father was a bracero – a legally permitted temporary worker from Mexico – and pathways to citizenship existed for people like Marquez. A mother of four and lifelong immigration activist from San Antonio, she had crafted them of dyed corn husks the night before when she had heard the news. But the border today is farther from open than it’s ever been before. “So our leaders should do something about it.” He was among a small crowd of media, mourners and neighbors who gathered around the police tape despite the Texas heat on Tuesday morning. “It should be a better system so this doesn’t happen.” Bridges, a 40-year-old plumber who was born on an overseas US military base, said he often hears complaints that immigrant workers will take jobs from US workers.

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Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

What We Know About the Migrant Deaths in San Antonio (The New York Times)

Authorities are working to identify the dozens of victims, who are believed to be migrants. Three people have been detained. And local police planned to ...

In recent days, law enforcement officials along the border and in nearby counties have expressed concern at the number of arriving migrants in Texas, which has long been one of the most heavily trafficked borders for migrants. The worker found the doors of the trailer partially open and bodies inside. The journey north for migrants crossing into the U.S. from Mexico is typically dangerous, and sometimes fatal. And local police planned to search the site for more bodies on Tuesday. Authorities are working to identify the dozens of victims, who are believed to be migrants. The police chief, William McManus, said three people had been detained.

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