U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents rescued a group of undocumented immigrants who were trapped under hay bales in the back of a tru...
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents rescued a group of undocumented immigrants who were trapped under hay bales in the back of a truck during an inspection in California.
The incident took place Monday night when a truck driven by a 42-year-old Mexican man approached the Highway 86 CBP checkpoint in Salton City.
Border Patrol officers deployed a canine which led them to the rear area of the semi tractor-trailer truck.
Subsequently, the CBP agents conducted a secondary search and discovered 12 men and a woman lying under multiple stacks of hay.
The migrants, all natives of Mexico, had 'no means for escape,' and were assisted off the flatbed after the border agents removed the hay bales.
None of the undocumented individuals required medical assistance.
The driver, who unlawfully entered the United States, was placed under arrest and processed for human trafficking.
The migrants were processed for illegally crossing the Mexico-U.S. border.
All 14 individuals were later deported to Mexico.
CBP said Monday's incident was the 14th tractor-trailer smuggling incident in 2020 in the Imperial Valley, which covers the Southern California counties of Imperial and Riverside.
Recent data showed that apprehensions of unaccompanied minors, family units and single adults along the southwestern border dropped from 30,002 in March to 15,862 in April. Figures for May have not been released yet.
CBP agents had to removed some of the hay bales before they assisted the 13 undocumented immigrants from Mexico in getting off the truck
No comments