Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
A Texas man is accused of trying to smuggle more than 100 people illegal immigrants in the USA in an enclosed tractor trailer.
Juan Manuel Aguirre, 49, faces three counts of conspiracy to transport an undocumented alien to the United States and transporting an undocumented alien to the United States for financial gain, according to a statement released by the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Texas on Monday
Aguirre, a resident of the southern Texas city of Laredo, was spotted by law enforcement loading a large group of migrants into a white trailer in a warehouse parking lot on December 2. After driving off, authorities conducted a traffic stop on the white truck. hauling the trailer and allegedly found 101 undocumented immigrants, including 12 unaccompanied children, crammed together.
Trucks cross the International World Trade Bridge in Laredo, Texas on June 10, 2019. (Callaghan O’Hare/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Department of Justice The statement said two of the migrants reported having difficulty breathing and fearing for their lives due to the conditions in the trailer.
Aguirre faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the three charges and fines of up to $250,000.
The number of individuals convicted of alien trafficking offenses in the US has steadily increased under the Biden administrationreaching 4,731 in fiscal year 2023, according to the most recent data from the US Sentencing Commission.
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 accounted for more than 60% of the US border with Mexico, the top two districts for human trafficking were both in Texas.
In 2023, 64,124 cases of trafficking in foreigners were reported. Around 10% of foreigner trafficking cases involve unaccompanied minors.
In October, local news source KGNS reported a troubling increase in human trafficking incidents in Laredo, leading to high-risk vehicle chases and other dangerous situations.
THESE ARE TRUMP’S THREE PRIORITIES FOR BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN | FOX NEWS VIDEO
The Rio Grande is seen from Laredo, Texas on September 19, 2020. (Reuters/Veronica G. Cardenas)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Earlier this month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched a new one billboard advertising campaign in Mexico and Central America to warn potential illegal migrants of the dangers of trying to enter the US illegally.
“We are here to expose the truth to the immigrants who are thinking about coming here, the truth about the traffickers who assault so many of the women and children along the way,” the governor said. “The message is: don’t risk a dangerous journey just to be arrested and deported.”
