US Border Patrol agents rescued 17 migrants, including children, who were locked inside a tractor trailer traveling along the Texas highway.
Agents patrolling the Laredo Sector of the border came across the vehicle on Tuesday night in Encinal, 40 miles north of the border, with 17 migrants found sitting inside the locked empty, metal trailer, officials said.
Laredo agents said the stop, conducted along with Encinal police, “foiled a human smuggling attempt,” on a day where the weather reached a high of 96 degrees.
Criminal organizations are known to smuggle immigrants into Texas inside tractor trailers, with the operations creating major headlines since the infamous 2022 incident where 53 immigrants were found dead inside the back of a poorly ventilated truck.
Officials said the migrants rescued during Tuesday’s operations “were taken into custody and processed.”
The agency did not specify if the driver of the truck or anyone else had been arrested or charged with a crime as a result of the incident.
USBP officials did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Along with Tuesday’s rescue, a marine unit with the Laredo Sector Border Patrol also had to rescue a woman who was drowning in the Rio Grande while trying to cross the border illegally with a group of migrants.
“The female subject was unresponsive, but after quick medical aid by the crew she regained consciousness,” officials said in a statement on Thursday.
USBP agents continue to crack down on illegal immigration across the border as the number of migrants crossing continues to dip in recent months.
Migrant encounters along the southern border are down 55% in the last seven weeks, with the Border Patrol making 83,536 apprehensions in June, the lowest number since 2021.
