Texas law enforcement officials disrupted a human trafficking operation Thursday, rescuing 26 migrants from scorching heat and arresting seven suspected smugglers.
The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office received information Thursday morning about a human trafficking operation involving dozens of people, and Sheriff Javier Salazar told reporters the department is aware of the operation, which involves a long gooseneck trailer heading to a rural home outside San Antonio.
The nationalities of all the migrants are unknown, but Salazar said this was a “high-dollar scheme” as a Guatemalan woman in the group told authorities she paid $16,000 to be smuggled into the United States.
A Bexar County sheriff’s deputy, right, walks with a handcuffed woman during a law enforcement operation Thursday in San Antonio, Texas. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
He added that the trailers were coming from the Laredo area, but it was unclear whether all of the migrants had just entered the U.S. or were already there.
After receiving the call, the sheriff’s office and multiple other law enforcement agencies followed the trailer to what Salazar described as “an open-air shack with the windows open in triple-digit temperatures, no air conditioning, no running water and a bucket toilet.”
“We couldn’t even find a source of drinking water,” Salazar said, “but the conditions are dire… and it’s just scorching hot inside.”
Investigators said they also found multiple bulletproof vests and a long rifle behind the residence.
“We don’t know if those rifles are automatic or semi-automatic, but it’s entirely possible,” Salazar said. “I mean, obviously, it’s natural to find something like that in a smuggling operation like this. It’s clearly cartel-related.”
Biden has been criticized within his party for using the same tactics as Trump to control the border.
A Bexar County sheriff’s deputy, left, talks with a handcuffed woman in San Antonio, Texas, on Thursday. (AP Photo/Darren Abate)
When the trailer arrived at the house, it appeared as if smugglers were unloading people from the trailer, but Salazar said that was a “decoy.” He explained that underneath the trailer was a large fake loading compartment with 26 migrants lying inside.
Salazar said the migrants reported being in the stifling fake vehicles for nearly three hours while they were transported from the border.
Due to the harsh conditions the migrants were exposed to, emergency personnel treated them and transported 11 of them to a nearby hospital.
Salazar said law enforcement officers sealed off the home, causing some to flee on foot, and that those who weren’t treated at the hospital were taken to police headquarters for questioning.
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Authorities said they believe the trafficking ring crossed the southern border near Laredo, Texas. (Border Patrol)
Salazar told reporters it was unclear whether all 26 migrants were actually victims, explaining that coyotes sometimes pose as migrants or try to blend into crowds.
Investigators said they hope to use questioning to sort out who is actually an immigrant and who is not.
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Salazar said all of the migrants are adults, with the youngest being 18 years old.
