Migrant Tragedy in San Antonio

Fifty-three migrants died in what remains the nation’s deadliest human smuggling event. Eight children and one pregnant woman were among the victims discovered in the sweltering trailer parked next to an isolated road in 2022. Full Story 

Juan Wilmer Tulul Tepaz was one of the 53 migrants who died after being trapped in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio. His body was returned to his village, which has buried several youths who left to seek better lives in the U.S. Full Story 

The men could face life in prison or the death penalty. The gruesome crime scene and large number of people who died drew international outrage. Full Story 

Adela Betulia Ramírez Quezada was trying to reunite with her mother and two sisters in California. The morning that she climbed in to a trailer with dozens of others, she called her mother to say they would see each other soon. Full Story 

Relatives of the victims and other residents of the village of Tzucubal pooled their resources and traveled to Guatemala’s capital last week to confirm their identities. They now wait for the teens’ bodies to be repatriated so they can be buried. Full Story 

News of the trailer full of bodies struck horror in cities and villages accustomed to watching their young people leave, trying to flee poverty or violence in Central America and Mexico. Full Story 

In an interview with The Texas Tribune, the Roman Catholic prelate cited the school shooting in Uvalde, an intensified narcotics trade and the deaths of 53 migrants in a tractor-trailer in San Antonio. He urged comprehensive immigration reform. Full Story 

A federal agency estimates that about 75 trucks are reported nationally each year with copied or stolen state and federal ID numbers, which industry experts say is likely a significant undercount. Full Story 

It was the single deadliest migrant smuggling case in U.S. history, according to a Homeland Security official. Citizens of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were among the victims. Full Story 

DPS said the checkpoints won’t occur at the ports of entry, which is different than in April when Abbott mandated all commercial vehicles entering from Mexico be checked by state police. The order snarled trade with Mexico at the time. Full Story 

San Antonio’s mayor joined several dozen people who said they wanted to honor the 51 migrants who died Monday on the city’s southwest side. Full Story 

To immigration experts, the astounding loss of life illustrates just how difficult it is to stem migration into the country, even as Abbott has spent the last year pouring billions of state dollars into securing the border. Full Story 

The victims included migrants from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras. Most were men; five were minors. Full Story 

In 1987, 2003 and 2017, groups of migrants died of heat and dehydration in Texas after being trapped in stifling containers. Hundreds more die alone or in smaller groups as desperation drives them to take fatal risks. Full Story 

The authorities said the tragedy appeared to be the deadliest migrant-smuggling operation in memory. Sixteen people were taken to hospitals. Full Story