01
Major immigration tragedy
27 According to multiple U.S. law enforcement agencies, at least 46 bodies were found in a suspected abandoned 18-wheel truck in San Antonio, Texas., and 16 people, including children, were transported. Heading to local hospitals, sources say the death toll may continue to rise.
Local law enforcement said that there may have been nearly 100 people on the truck, and "about half" of them were dead . There are reports that these people who died illegally crossed the border into the United States from Mexico.
According to The New York Times , San Antonio city officials said at a press conference that officials also found at least 16 people, including 4 children, suffering from heat stroke and obvious dehydration. They were taken to the hospital,
"They have families. ... It may just be that he is looking for a better life," said San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg. "This is simply a terrible human tragedy."
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said three people have been detained and the investigation has been turned over to federal agents.
Mexico said that its consul was traveling to a location near San Antonio, and the nationality of the deceased was currently unclear. It is reported that the incident occurred about 140 miles (about 225 kilometers) from the nearest border port. Local media pointed out that this may be a "human smuggling case."
It is currently unclear the specific cause of these people's deaths, but reports indicate that the outdoor temperature in the area where the incident occurred was as high as 103 degrees Fahrenheit (about 39 degrees Celsius), and the temperature inside the carriage was much higher than the outdoor temperature. The local police said that these people lacked water and air conditioning, and some survivors were very hot.
Bodies whose temperatures at the time of death reached or exceeded 105 degrees Fahrenheit (about 40 degrees Celsius) should be certified as thermal deaths, according to a committee recommendation from the National Association of Medical Examiners. The
report pointed out that as temperatures rise, immigrants near the US-Mexico border are more likely to suffer from heat stroke, dehydration and death. It is said that US immigration staff are rushing to the scene of the incident. According to sources, a number of ambulances were coming in and out of the scene, and U.S. Border Patrol agents had also arrived at the scene.
McManus said the truck was discovered by a worker at a nearby business who "heard cries for help and came out to investigate." The worker found the door of the truck partially open and found some bodies inside.
Law enforcement arrived at the scene around 6 p.m. and found most of the bodies inside the truck, and at least one body outside the truck.
Fire Chief Charles Hood said the person taken to the hospital was "hot to the touch" and appeared to be suffering from "heat stroke, heat exhaustion " . He revealed that although the truck was designed for refrigeration, it had “no visible, functioning air conditioning unit” and there was no drinking water inside.
Officials did not say the cause of death, but suggested extreme heat was a factor. San Antonio and other cities in Texas have been experiencing high temperatures in June. Temperatures in San Antonio exceeded 100 degrees on Monday. According to reports, the truck was found next to a remote railway track. Local staff heard calls for help, and the discovery attracted the attention of the police. Emergency crews then walked along the tracks with thermal imaging cameras, searching for more people in the immediate area.
A charity director said he was shocked after hearing the news and was organizing efforts to help survivors.
Residents living near the incident said that the area has actually been known as the "settling point for immigrants" ."They (the immigrants involved this time) should have just arrived here. I saw them carrying backpacks and asking for food or money.
This is very sad. I even heard that there are many children in this wave of people."
The resident added , these immigrants know this area and will usually jump off the bus here and be picked up. According to reports, once these immigrants enter the United States, human smugglers will meet them in remote places and transport them away in trailers, trucks, etc.
Some immigration advocates claim that San Antonio is actually a "transit station" for immigrants traveling from Texas to various parts of the United States. In recent months, tens of thousands of immigrants have passed through the city.
04
Illegal immigration across the southern border of the United States has hit a record this year
According to U.S. federal officials, the number of illegal immigrants crossing the southern border has set a new record this year. Last month, more than 44,000 people lived in the Texas border town of Del Rio and Eagle Pass alone, the closest border city to San Antonio.
Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said that the country’s consul was traveling to a location near San Antonio, Texas. The nationality of the deceased was not yet known .
05
Is this the responsibility of Biden ?
According to reports, Texas officials are already managing a record number of "Mexican immigration crossings" and preparing for a new wave of immigrants. Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott posted on social platforms: " These deaths are Biden's responsibility and the result of his deadly open border policy. "
There are reports that the Trump administration has cited " The relevant provisions of the United States Code involving public health, social welfare and civil rights refuse to accept asylum applications from most adults in Mexico and Central American countries and expel them back to Mexico or their country of origin.
The Biden administration decided to repeal this deportation order at the end of May. Republicans in the U.S. Congress and some centrist Democrats believe that once it is abolished, the number of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border will inevitably surge, and border guards will not be prepared to deal with it.
In fact, Abbott has challenged the Biden administration’s border policies several times. According to a report by The government "takes a look."
Previously, he also ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety to strengthen security inspections of commercial trucks entering from Mexico at border checkpoints, aiming to "curb the inflow of drugs, human traffickers, illegal immigrants, weapons and other contraband."
06
Looking at the history of immigrant deaths in Texas
, this may be the biggest stowaway tragedy in the United States in recent decades..
In December 2021, a truck carrying 2 million immigrants crashed into a pedestrian bridge and overturned in Mexico, killing 55 people. In April 2021, a truck carrying 29 immigrants crashed on a remote stretch of highway in Texas, killing 10 people. In March 2021, an SUV carrying 25 people was hit by a semitrailer in the east of San Diego, killing 13 immigrants.
Relevant information shows that the most serious human smuggling fatal accident in a truck in the history of the United States also occurred in Texas.
in 2003, Victoria, Texas was experiencing high temperatures at that time. More than 100 undocumented immigrants were loaded into a truck. Because the driver did not turn on the refrigeration system, the temperature inside the truck rose to 173 degrees Fahrenheit (about 78.3 degrees Fahrenheit). degrees Celsius), eventually killed 19 people, the oldest of whom was 91 years old, and the youngest was only 7 years old.
In 2017, 10 stowaways died after being trapped in a truck parked at a Walmart in San Antonio.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said the Mexican consul was on his way to the site of the incident and that the two Guatemalans were taken to the hospital. But he added that the nationalities of the other victims were not yet known.
