Mexican authorities find over 120 undocumented immigrants crammed inside tractor-trailer 

Mexican authorities found over 120 undocumented migrants packed inside a tractor-trailer with little ventilation on its way to the U.S.-Mexico border this week, Border Patrol’s Del Rio Sector agents reported. 

Mexican authorities detained the tractor-trailer last week and found 123 undocumented migrants that had been trapped for more than six hours with no way of escape and little ventilation. 

The migrants were rescued and treated for dehydration by medical personnel. 

Sector Chief Jason Owens said this latest encounter was a “great example” of the bi-national efforts with the Mexican government that was needed to secure the border. 

The encounter comes as an unprecedented number of migrants are attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. During the fiscal year 2022, there were more than 2.3 million encounters, up from the more than 1.7 million undocumented migrants intercepted in the fiscal year 2021. 

Along with the record number of migrants intercepted, authorities have seen a record number of migrant deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border. During the fiscal year 2022, authorities saw 856 migrant deaths, the highest ever on record. 

Several of the migrant deaths have been associated with migrants being trapped in the back of trucks without little oxygen, such as the incident that took place in Mexico this week. 

In June of this year, 53 migrants were found dead inside an abandoned tractor-trailer near San Antonio Texas. They had been left by smugglers inside the sweltering heat with no means of escape.