Two dead migrants were found on a freight train in the US state of Texas on Friday. This has been announced by the local police. US border guards found 15 migrants “suffocating” on a train in Knippa that ran along the US-Mexico border. The train was traveling from the border town of Eagle Pass to San Antonio. The US Department of Homeland Security has launched an investigation into possible human trafficking. Last January, the Biden administration announced its intention to crack down on migrants illegally crossing the border into Mexico.
The migrants on the train were in need of urgent medical care and were taken to a hospital in critical condition by ambulances and helicopters, local authorities said. The exact cause of death, their nationality and whether they were eligible for asylum in the US was still unknown on Friday. Temperatures in the Texan region are often well above thirty degrees. The rapid heating of the sea container probably played a role. Last summer, more than 50 migrants died in similar circumstances, also near San Antonio. The tragic event was one of the deadliest human trafficking cases on America’s southern border in recent years. To this end, the US authorities stepped up police efforts to stop smugglers.
In a statement on Twitter brought Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, Friday’s events related to human trafficking and vowed to hold those responsible accountable. “We are heartbroken to hear of yet another tragic incident where migrants make the perilous journey. Smugglers are callous and just want to make a profit.”
Refugees
The stricter measures recently announced by the Biden administration are part of the US’s attempt to gain more control over increased immigration from Latin America. These measures included immediately rejecting Cubans, Venezuelans, and Nicaraguans illegally crossing the US-Mexico border. Many migrants from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua are fleeing their countries, partly for fear of political persecution. US President Biden is under increasing domestic pressure to cope with migration spikes at the southern border. With the new policy, the US government hopes to deter Latin American migrants from starting the long journey north in the first place.
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