Texas Troopers Find 20 Migrants Hidden in Truck
On Monday night, Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers discovered 20 undocumented immigrants, including four minors, concealed in the bedroom of a truck tractor. This incident occurred near Laredo, Texas, close to a site where a group of undocumented immigrants was tragically found dead in a Union Pacific Railroad car.
The traffic stop happened just after 6 p.m. on May 18, 2026, when a white Volvo tractor-trailer was pulled over on IH-35 near mile marker 28 in Webb County as part of Operation Lone Star.
Upon approaching the vehicle, the driver tried to escape on foot but was swiftly apprehended. A search uncovered the large number of individuals crammed into the truck’s bed, which was not designed for human transport and lacked essential ventilation, safety equipment, or restraints. This group appears to be what Border Patrol refers to as “immigrant fugitives,” individuals who have crossed the border without being detected.
The driver has been identified as Miguel Angel Velasquez Chavez, a 25-year-old Mexican national, who now faces charges of evading arrest and human smuggling. He is currently held in Webb County Jail. The undocumented individuals from Mexico and Guatemala were turned over to U.S. Border Patrol, and the investigation continues.
The concealment method used in this incident mirrors some of the techniques seen in a recent tragedy in Croatia, where migrants were packed into cargo trucks and suffocated, leading to multiple deaths. This case drew international attention due to its similarities to dangerous smuggling tactics linked to cartel networks operating in Texas.
This heartbreaking discovery in Croatia is reminiscent of earlier reports regarding deceased migrants in Laredo, where smugglers had once again placed individuals in sealed containers with no airflow. Such incidents reveal the grave risks involved in treating migrants as mere cargo, a troubling pattern emerging from southern Texas to the western Balkans.
In each situation, smugglers have seemed to prioritize evasion of law enforcement over the lives they are endangering, utilizing confined spaces that can rapidly become hazardous.
DPS and CID officers have consistently warned that smugglers are increasingly resorting to perilous concealment methods in light of heightened enforcement. Methods such as hiding individuals in tractor-trailer sleepers, rail cars, grain hoppers, and enclosed compartments have all been observed recently.
The presence of four minors in this incident underscores a disturbing trend in which smuggling networks are willing to place children in dangerous circumstances.
DPS officials indicated that the investigation is ongoing and that further charges may follow.
