US Border Patrol has released a photo on Instagram showing four undocumented immigrants crammed into a toolbox like sardines in a truck in Texas.
The vehicle, apprehended near Rio Grande City by border agents, was found to be carrying twelve other undocumented immigrants.
The men can be seen lying inside the orange metal box, with at least one individual appearing to be holding a small black garbage bag containing personal items.
US officials emphasised that none of the immigrants were injured in this particular incident, while human smuggling tactics like the one seen in the footage has, on other occasions, resulted in deaths.
In this Thursday, June 10, 2021, file photo, a pair of migrant families from Brazil pass through a gap in the border wall to reach the United States after crossing from Mexico to Yuma, Ariz., to seek asylum.
© AP Photo / Eugene Garcia
Last October, a Texas man pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle two Mexican nationals in a flag-draped coffin. According to federal prosecutors, he had told Border Patrol agents that the casket he was driving contained a dead “Navy guy”.
After inspection, two illegal Mexican nationals were discovered inside the coffin.
A report in the Dallas Morning News last year highlighted the growing incidence of young drivers being hired to transport immigrants across the Texas-Mexico border in pickups and SUVs.
Furthermore, it was added that the drivers in question were prepared to take risks, driving recklessly, creating havoc on the roads and slamming into homes and other vehicles as they attempted to flee from the police.
According to cited Texas sheriffs in rural border counties, there has been a significant rise in such high-speed chases involving human-smuggling vehicles.
The US continues to be plagued by the illegal immigrant crisis on its southern border. In an effort to deal with the issue in his state, Texas Governor Greg Abbott launched the controversial Operation Lone Star - a joint mission between the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas National Guard along the southern border between Texas and Mexico in March 2021 to counter illegal immigration and the illegal drug trade.
The operation, which allows local and state authorities to arrest migrants who they suspect are trespassing, involved some 10,000 military personnel and has faced public criticism, including from state officials, following reports of delays in pay, poor working and living conditions.
The attempts to address the border issue come as the situation shows no sign of abating and Republicans are hoping to wield the issue successfully as a midterm campaign theme.
While Democrat Joe Biden’s overall job-approval rating is floundering in the low 40s, Americans take an even dimmer view of how he is handling immigration, with only 36% of respondents voicing satisfaction in a recent CBS News poll.
A new survey ahead of the March 1 primary by A Your Local Election Headquarters/The Hill/Emerson College Poll has affirmed the likelihood that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and former Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke will earn the gubernatorial nominations for their party, with the Republican leading the Democrat 52% to 45%.in a hypothetical matchup.