Dec. 20 (UPI) — This past weekend, during a routine inspection at an Interstate 25 checkpoint in New Mexico, U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered and apprehended 37 undocumented migrants trying to hide inside a tractor trailer, officials said.
The agents, assigned to the Las Cruces Station in the El Paso sector, heard movement near the rear door of the trailer and, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, “observed individuals attempting to crouch behind freight.”
A further search revealed 37 migrants hiding inside the cargo trailer, officials said, and none had proper documentation.
The migrants were taken into custody. They come from countries such as Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador and Ecuador. They were transported to facilities for further processing under Title 8 authority, officials said.
“Smuggling organizations exploit migrants with false promises of safe passage and easy entry, but illegal entry into the United States often involves tactics that not only violate U.S. immigration laws but also endanger lives,” said El Paso Sector Chief Anthony Scott Good in a release. “We remain focused on enforcing immigration laws, holding smugglers accountable, and applying consequences to those who cross the border illegally or attempt to circumvent the legal immigration process.”
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials, El Paso sector agents disrupted 24 tractor trailer smuggling events during fiscal year 2024. Agents said 387 migrants have been discovered so far.
For fiscal year 2025, El Paso sector agents have disrupted four significant tractor trailer smuggling operations and have apprehended 97 undocumented migrants.
This kind of operation is nothing new for agents in this particular sector, officials said in the release, adding that El Paso sector agents regularly encounter smuggling tactics used by transnational criminal organizations, and those include concealing migrants in commercial vehicles.
Such activity can be extremely dangerous because of a lack of safety measures used by the smugglers. Individuals are often crammed into confined spaces without adequate ventilation, much less seat belts. Smuggled migrants often are exposed to dangerously high temperatures in the summer, agents say, and freezing conditions in the winter.
