Border Patrol finds 48 immigrants stashed in refrigerated trailer
by Ashly Custer
Posted: 53 mins ago
Some immigrants smuggled into the U.S. illegally are put through extreme conditions in an effort to stay undetected, according to U.S. Border Patrol agents at the Falfurrias checkpoint.
Four dozen immigrants were found inside a refrigerated 18 wheeler with temperatures as low as 54 degrees Fahrenheit.
The 48 immigrants suspected to have entered the country without authorization were found around 6 a.m. on Friday.
The low temperature can pose a health hazard for an individual, especially once they are forced to step out into the triple digit heat, according to authorities.
A majority of the time, trailers are not cooled and are left extremely hot and humid, according to Border Patrol Agents. The heat inside trailers easy surpasses outside temperatures.
Border Patrol placed a thermometer inside the back of a trailer Friday afternoon. It read 102 degrees Fahrenheit and does not take into account the humid conditions inside the space.
"You also have to take into consideration that they are crossing the river. They are already dehydrated. They get taken to a stash house. They don’t have running water. They don’t have food. They are already in a bad state when they try to circumvent these checkpoints and only to get placed into this hot box right here," said Border Patrol RGV Sector Spokesman Omar Zamora.
The trailers are locked from the outside most times.
Typically, immigrants are trapped in the back for hours until they reach a destination further north from the checkpoint, according to Border Patrol.
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