San Antonio - The driver of a truck in
which at least nine men were found dead alongside dozens
suffering in sweltering conditions in San Antonio, Texas was
expected to appear in court on Monday, over what authorities
called a case of ruthless human trafficking.
Thirty people, many in critical condition and suffering from
heat stoke and exhaustion, were taken out of the vehicle parked
outside a Walmart store that lacked air-conditioning or water
supply, San Antonio Fire Chief Charles Hood said.
Outside temperatures topped 100 degrees F (37.8 C).
Another person found in a wooded area nearby was being
treated, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of
Texas said. All the dead were adult males.
"All were victims of ruthless human smugglers indifferent to
the well-being of their fragile cargo," said San Antonio-based
U.S. Attorney Richard Durbin Jr.
"These people were helpless in the hands of their
transporters. Imagine their suffering, trapped in a stifling
trailer."
The truck's driver, named by the US Attorney's Office as
James Mathew Bradley Jr., 60, of Clearwater, Florida, was
arrested, with a criminal complaint set to be filed in federal
court in San Antonio on Monday.
Bradley is expected to have an initial court appearance soon
after, the US attorney said.
Several agencies have launched investigations into the case.
The dead men, who have not yet been identified, were
discovered after officials were led to the trailer by a man who
asked a Walmart employee for water.
San Antonio is about 150 miles (240 km) north of the Mexico
border.
Mexico's government said it deplored the deaths and that it
had asked the authorities for an exhaustive investigation.
In a statement, it said its consul general in San Antonio
was working to identify the victims' nationalities and, if
necessary, repatriate their remains to Mexico.
US steps up raids
Raids on suspected illegal immigrants have increased across
the United States in recent months, after President Donald Trump
vowed to crack down on entrants without authorization or
overstaying their visas.
In Texas alone, federal immigration agents arrested 123
illegal immigrants with criminal records in an eight-day
operation ending last week.
The San Antonio deaths come more than a decade after what is
considered the worst immigrant smuggling case in U.S. history,
when 70 people were found stuffed into an 18-wheeler. Nineteen
died in the incident in Victoria, Texas, about 100 miles (160
km) southeast of San Antonio, in May 2003.
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said other suspects
fled the scene as police arrived. Video showed "there were a
number of vehicles that came and picked up other people who were
in that trailer," he said.
Twenty people were airlifted to hospitals in conditions
ranging from critical to very critical, Hood said. Eight more
are listed in less serious condition.
McManus said those in the truck, whose origins were unclear,
ranged from school-age juveniles to adults in their 30s. He said
the Department of Homeland Security had joined the
investigation.
Experts have been warning that tougher immigration policies
could make it harder to stop human trafficking. Measures
tightening international borders encourage would-be migrants to
turn to smugglers, while fear of deportation deters
whistle-blowing, they said.
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials
defended the use of tough methods to fight human smuggling.
"So long as I lead ICE, there will be an unwavering
commitment to use law enforcement assets to put an end to these
practices," the agency's acting director, Thomas Homan, said in
a statement.
The Border Patrol has regularly reported finding suspected
immigrants in trucks along the US border with Mexico.
This month, 72 Latin Americans were found in a trailer in
Laredo. In June, 44 people were found in the back of a vehicle
in the same Texas city, which lies directly across the Rio
Grande from Mexico.
San Antonio has a policy of not inquiring about the
immigration status of people who come into contact with city
officials or police.
It was among several cities in Texas that filed a federal
lawsuit last month to block a state law set to take effect in
September that would force them to cooperate closely with
immigration agents.
"San Antonio will not turn its back on any man, woman, or
child in need," Mayor Ron Nirenberg said in a statement
responding to the truck deaths.