Six unlawful migrants died and five others sustained severe injuries in two separate car accidents in Texas last week.
The first was a single-vehicle rollover crash on the morning of June 29.
A driver apparently evading U.S. Border Patrol agents in the town of Palmview near the Texas-Mexico border lost control of their green Ford SUV while “traveling at an unsafe speed,” officials said.
Four occupants believed to be unlawful migrants were ejected from the vehicle. Two males were killed, and the other two, a male and a female, were critically injured, according to Lt. Chris Olivarez, spokesman for the South Texas region of the Department of Public Safety (DPS).Michael
The Dallas Express reported the second crash: a deadly collision that left four dead and three in critical condition on June 30. According to DPS officials, a high-speed chase down I-35 ended in the town of Encinal when the fleeing driver of a white Jeep SUV rear-ended a semi-truck.
The chase ensued during “a human smuggling attempt,” according to a statement from Texas Highway Patrol Sgt. Erick Estrada.
In a further June 29 incident, the U.S. Border Patrol’s Del Rio Sector reported that agents in Eagle Pass had foiled a smuggling attempt involving 10 people locked in a tractor-trailer, according to a tweet from Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens.
These encounters come on the heels of the deaths of 53 people left in the cargo hold of a semi-truck abandoned near San Antonio. The Dallas Express reported that the individuals, believed to be unlawful migrants, were suffering from heat stroke and exhaustion due to their lack of access to air conditioning and water.
According to Craig Larrabee, acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in San Antonio, this was the deadliest smuggling attempt in U.S. history.
Unlawfully crossing the border can be dangerous, involving elements ranging from remote mountain routes to clandestine boats. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) shared a report in December 2021 stating that 651 unlawful migrants died attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border that year.