20 immigrants found locked in a semitrailer in West Texas
SIERRA BLANCA, Texas (AP) — Border Patrol agents have found 20 immigrants crammed into a locked semitrailer at a checkpoint in West Texas.
A Border Patrol spokesman said the immigrants from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala were in good condition after being found early Monday at the Interstate 10 checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, about 85 miles (136 kilometers) southwest of El Paso. The spokesman said they appeared to be in the U.S. illegally.
The driver, Irving Hernandez, has been booked into the El Paso County Jail in El Paso on a federal alien smuggling charge. No bond has been set. Jail records don't list an attorney for him.
The vehicle was found one day after a 16 immigrants were discovered locked in an 18-wheeler parked at a gas station in Edinburg, about 20 miles from the border with Mexico. The Border Patrol said the 16 comprised of eight people from El Salvador, six from Mexico and two from Romania. A man and woman, both Cuban nationals, were in charge of that truck, a Border Patrol spokesman said.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/20-immigrants-found-locked-in-a-semitrailer-in-11821859.php
