According to Associated Press report, the number of immigrants killed in the Texas truck tragedy in the United States has risen to 51. The United States said that 22 of the dead were from Mexico, 7 were from Guatemala, and 2 were from Honduras. The nationalities of the remaining victims have not been confirmed. The driver of the truck and two others were arrested and the investigation is ongoing.
html On the 28th, Mexican President Lopez condemned illegal human trafficking and the "lack of control" at the US-Mexico border at his daily press conference. Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, said that the tragedy was to be blamed on "Biden's deadly open border policy."
"This is completely a terrible human tragedy"
San Antonio Mayor of southern Texas, Nirenberg, said at a press conference on the evening of the 27th: "This is completely a terrible human tragedy."
According to another report San Antonio police and fire officials said that on the evening of the 27th, a man spotted the car at an intersection and heard calls for help coming from inside the car, and immediately called the police. After the rescuers arrived at the scene, they found that many people were dead in the carriage. There was no water in the carriage, the air conditioning was not turned on, and the survivors had high body temperatures and could not even get out of the car on their own.
The deceased were all adults, and four children were among the immigrants sent to the hospital for treatment. At this time, their identities and nationalities are unknown.
According to the "San Antonio News Express" report, the "identity" of this large truck was forged. Someone "cloned" the vehicle using the same identification number and body color registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Transportation by a trucking company in Texas, apparently to evade investigation by authorities.
The police arrested three people on the evening of the 27th. It is still unclear whether the three people are related to this incident.
Texas has been experiencing a heat wave since June. According to the weather department, the highest temperature in San Antonio reached 38 degrees Celsius on the 27th. In a crowded carriage, the actual temperature is higher.
The tragedy is one of the deadliest in recent years involving migrants trying to cross the U.S. southern border. Previously, in 2017, 10 immigrants died after being trapped in a truck in San Antonio. In 2003, 19 immigrant bodies were found in a sweltering truck in the city's southeast.
The U.S. Border Patrol said last week that border officials apprehended a record number of immigrants in May since records began.
Texas Governor: The deaths should be attributed to Biden
After the death of 50 immigrants in a refrigerated truck in San Antonio, Texas, Governor Abbott of the state accused President Biden of being responsible for the incident, saying, "The deaths should be attributed to Biden." body".
Abbott said the deaths of these immigrants were the result of Biden’s “deadly open border policy.” He added that the incident showed the deadly consequences of Biden's "refusal to enforce the law."
White House press secretary Jean-Pierre refuted Abbott's remarks. She, who is traveling to Europe with Biden, said he was "paying close attention to the absolutely horrific and heartbreaking reports from San Antonio."
When asked to respond Republicans people blamed Biden for the deaths, Jean-Pierre disputed their characterization that Biden was implementing an "open borders" policy, saying the administration was focused on combating human smuggling networks. .
Jean-Pierre said, "The fact that the border is closed is part of the reason why you see people trying to use smuggling networks to make this dangerous journey. We will continue to focus on the facts and make sure we pursue these smugglers ”
She said Biden had been briefed on the situation and would continue to receive updates on the incident.
Controversy: Frequent scandals in the United States' response to immigration issues
Mexican Foreign Minister Ebrard said that day that the incident was a "tragedy" and expressed his condolences to the victims and their families. Staff from the Mexican Consulate in the United States have rushed to the scene, but the nationality of the victims has not yet been confirmed.
According to Mexican media reports, tens of thousands of immigrants from Latin American countries set off from southern Mexico to the United States in early June.
Latin America has not only been politically and economically constrained by the United States for a long time, but has also been deeply affected by the spillover effects of gun violence, drug proliferation and other problems in the United States. This is also a deep-seated reason for the flow of immigrants heading north. However, the U.S. government’s various “blame-shifting” actions have dissatisfied Mexico and other countries. Mexico has criticized many times recently that the United States has promised to allocate funds to solve the problem of immigration through Mexico since the previous administration, but it has not been fulfilled in the past few years.
In addition to the immigrant tragedies that occurred on the way north, the US government's violent law enforcement, extended detention , and abuse of immigrants have long existed, causing frequent scandals and causing controversy.
data shows that in 2021, U.S. law enforcement agencies arrested approximately 1.7 million illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, including 145,000 children. The "flesh separation" policy enforced by the previous U.S. government resulted in more than 2,800 immigrant children being separated from their parents. The internal management of the detention facilities is chaotic and human rights violations occur frequently.
In recent years, of the 266,000 immigrant children detained in the United States, 25,000 have been detained for more than 100 days. In September last year, the US border police on horseback violently drove away Haitian refugees with whips, which was widely condemned.
cover news reporter Yan Lei
Some information is based on Xinhua News Agency etc.
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