US Border Patrol agents find more than 30 migrants suffering from heat in U-Haul truck in Texas

Temperature inside the cargo compartment was over 100 degrees

A U-Haul truck carrying 33 migrant men in the cargo hold was found by US Border Patrol agents near Van Horn, Texas (US Border Patrol)

A truck filled with migrants suffering from heat-related illnesses was found near Van Horn, Texas, by the US Border Patrol.

More than 33 individuals were found inside the U-Haul truck, according to immigration enforcement officials.

Border agents found the migrants last Thursday evening after a day of near 100 degrees (38C) temperatures.

The agency's Special Operations Group includes trained emergency medical technicians, who accompanied the agents when they investigated the trucks. After finding the migrants and conducting an initial assessment, 12 were taken to area hospitals for medical assistance. Border agents provided assistance for dehydration while on scene.

Sean L McGoffin, the sector chief for the US Border Patrol Big Bend office, discussed the dangers of human smuggling with NBC 23, a local broadcaster.

“Smugglers do not care what type of misery they put people through as they take their money,” he said.

The Border Patrol received a tip that a human smuggling operation was occurring at a nearby McDonalds. When agents approached they found a semi-truck and a Dodge Journey. The migrants were inside.

Federal authorities said that all of the migrants have or will recover from their illnesses and injuries.

All of the migrants have been taken by Border Patrol and will now enter in the US's immigration enforcement system.

US Homeland Security Investigations will prosecute the case.

Culberson County Sheriff Oscar Carrillo wrote a Facebook post discussing the incident. He revealed that the driver of the U-Haul has been taken into custody.

“Attending health providers advised had the immigrants not been discovered and treated they may have not survived,” the Facebook post claimed.

Border agents thwarted another smuggling operation involving a U-Haul near Laredo on 13 June.

After stopping the truck, agents found 27 migrants inside its unventilated cargo area. The temperature inside the truck's cargo hold was 106 degrees (41C).

In addition to the danger migrants face from the summer heat and the negligence of smugglers, they also must content with the coronavirus.

The migrants trying to make it over the border are often placed into crowded, poorly ventilated spaces. According to the border agents who intercepted the smuggler near Laredo, none of the 27 migrants in the U-Haul were wearing face masks or any other protective from the coronavirus.

All of the people involved in the Laredo smuggling attempt were put under arrest and are being processed under US Border Patrol protocols.