A Texas man is being accused of attempting to smuggle more than 100 illegal immigrants into the United States in a locked tractor-trailer.
Juan Manuel Aguirre, 49, faces a three-count indictment of conspiracy to transport an undocumented alien within the United States and transportation of an undocumented alien within the United States for financial gain, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas on Monday.
Aguirre, a resident of the South Texas city of Laredo, was observed by law enforcement loading a large group of migrants into a white trailer in a warehouse parking lot on December 2. After it left, authorities conducted a traffic stop on the white truck. towing the trailer and allegedly found 101 undocumented immigrants, including 12 unaccompanied children, crammed into it.
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Trucks cross the World Trade International Bridge in Laredo, Texas, on June 10, 2019. (Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Justice Department statement said two of the migrants reported having difficulty breathing and feared for their lives due to the conditions in the trailer.
Aguirre faces 10 years in prison for each of the three counts and fines of up to $250,000.
The number of people sentenced for alien smuggling offenses in the United States has risen steadily under the Biden administration, reaching 4,731 in fiscal year 2023, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
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Migrants are detained near the border wall in New Mexico, on April 12, 2024. (Fox News)
The top five districts for human trafficking are located along the southern border. Since Texas represents more than 60% of the United States border with Mexico, the two main districts for human trafficking were both in Texas.
In 2023, 64,124 cases of foreign trafficking crimes were reported. Approximately 10% of foreign trafficking cases involve unaccompanied minors.
In October, local news source KGNS reported a concerning increase in human trafficking incidents in Laredo, resulting in high-risk vehicle chases and other dangerous situations.
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The Rio Grande seen from Laredo, Texas, on September 19, 2020. (Reuters/Verónica G. Cárdenas)
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Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched a new billboard advertising campaign in Mexico and Central America to warn potential illegal immigrants about the dangers of attempting to cross illegally into the United States.
“We are here to expose the truth to immigrants who are thinking about coming here, the truth about the traffickers who attack so many women and children along the way,” the governor said. “The message is: don’t risk making a dangerous journey only to be arrested and deported.”
