Seven Migrants Die in Texas Rail Container Smuggling; 11 Charged

A sealed rail-cargo container stacked at the Union Pacific yard in Laredo, Texas, was found with six bodies after a worker saw a leg protruding from the metal box. A seventh migrant was left for dead near the tracks in San Antonio. The victims were from Honduras and Mexico and included a 14-year-old boy. Temperatures that day ranged from 88 °F to 92 °F (31 °C–33 °C). The Webb County medical examiner attributed the deaths to hyperthermia (heat stroke).

UsNews and World Report

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons said the group boarded the train in Del Rio, intending to reach San Antonio, but smugglers closed the container after a man fell out, trapping the remaining six inside. Eleven individuals were indicted on two federal charges. One defendant was arrested on May 12 in Del Rio; eight more were taken into custody over the following week in central and south Texas. Two defendants—a man and a woman—remain at large. Officials identified four U.S. citizens and two permanent U.S. residents among the accused; the nationalities of the remaining five were not disclosed.

The Independent

The indictment lists conspiracy to transport aliens resulting in death and aiding and abetting the transportation of aliens resulting in death. Each count carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The indictment also notes that migrants typically paid between $1,500 and $10,000 to smugglers in Honduras, Mexico, the United States, and elsewhere for the journey.

The Independent

Simmons emphasized that the sealed, un-air-conditioned container offered no ventilation, making survival “very hard” in the extreme heat. He described the incident as a stark illustration of the lethal risks associated with rail-based human smuggling.

The Independent

• “One of those individuals frantically contacted their family as they were dying from the sweltering heat in that container,” — Justin R. Simmons

UsNews and World Report

• “In that kind of heat, it's May in Texas, ultimately it’s very hard to survive in an un-air conditioned, sealed container with ... the temperature being what it was on that day,” — Justin R. Simmons

UsNews and World Report

• “It’s very hard to survive in an un-air-conditioned, sealed container with ... the temperature being what it was on that day,” — Justin R. Simmons

The Independent