23 Unscreened Migrants Found as Stowaways on Train near Border in Texas

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents found 23 migrants hiding in a rail car of a Union Pacific train more than 50 miles from the Texas-Mexico border. The migrants appear to have illegally entered the U.S. between ports of entry without inspection.

Laredo Sector officials posted photos on social media showing the arrest of 23 migrants who illegally stowed away a Union Pacific railway car. The Cotulla Station agents found the migrants locked inside an autorack rail car. The migrants had no means of escape from the locked railcar.

“During their routine duties – and with temperatures reaching nearly 100 degrees yesterday – Border Patrol agents rescued 23 migrants from a locked train compartment who were put in a life-threatening situation by callous human smuggling organizations who prioritize profit over all else,” Laredo Sector Chief, Jesse D. Munoz said in a written statement. “CBP’s message for anyone who is thinking of entering the United States unlawfully remains simple: don’t do it.”

Agents found the migrants at about 7 a.m. on July 9. Officials reported the migrants did not require medical attention.

Agents identified the migrants as citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

When migrants cross the border unlawfully, they put their lives in peril, officials added. Smugglers continue to lie to migrants, claiming the borders are safe to cross.

In another example of the callous nature of human smugglers in South Texas, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper pulled over a pickup truck pulling a livestock trailer near the U.S. Highway 281 Border Patrol checkpoint. When the driver could not produce any documentation on his livestock cargo, the trooper obtained permission to search the trailer.

During the search, the trooper found four migrants who were allegedly being smuggled by Jormet Mowarin, and Oklahoma resident. The migrants were locked inside a hidden compartment in the horse trailer with no water and limited air circulation, according to a statement from DPS spokesman Lt. Chris Olivarez.

Border Patrol agents at the Falfurrias Checkpoint in Brooks County identified the migrants as citizens of Mexico and El Salvador. The migrants illegally entered the U.S. without inspection before being found nearly 80 miles inland from the border region. Border Patrol agents took custody of the four migrants.

The trooper arrested Mowarin, who now faces charges of smuggling of persons with the likelihood of serious bodily injury or death. He was transported to the Brooks County Sheriff’s Office jail to await a bond hearing.

Bob Price is the Breitbart Texas-Border team’s associate editor and senior news contributor. He is an original member of the Breitbart Texas team. Price is a regular panelist on Fox 26 Houston’s What’s Your Point? Sunday morning talk show. He also serves as president of Blue Wonder Gun Care Products.