A Texas man is facing federal charges after authorities discovered over 100 migrants, including children, locked inside a trailer he was allegedly transporting.
Juan Manuel Aguirre, 49, of Laredo, Texas, was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts of conspiracy to transport undocumented aliens and transporting undocumented aliens within the United States for financial gain.
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According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, law enforcement observed Aguirre loading migrants into a trailer at a warehouse parking lot in Laredo on December 2nd. A subsequent traffic stop and search of the vehicle revealed 101 migrants, including 12 children, confined inside the locked trailer.
The complaint states that two of the migrants reported experiencing difficulty breathing and fearing for their lives due to the conditions inside the trailer.
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This incident comes just over a year after the tragic discovery of a trailer in San Antonio carrying dozens of migrants who had succumbed to heat-related illnesses. 53 migrants died in that incident, which sparked national outrage and calls for increased border security and humane treatment of migrants.
Aguirre was initially booked into the Webb County Jail and later released to a federal agency. He is expected to be arraigned before a U.S. magistrate soon.
If convicted, Aguirre faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each of the three counts against him.
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