Almost 200 migrants found inside train in Texas during extreme heat conditions

Authorities found almost 200 migrants onboard a train during extreme heat conditions near the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Friday, as the country prepares for a surge in migration ahead of the Title 42 deadline. 

The train was stopped and searched after a Union Pacific Railroad train conductor reported stowaways on the train, according to a statement from the Kinney County Sheriff’s Office.  

After searching the train, investigators found almost two hundred “foreign nationals in the country illegally” on board the train. The exact number of the people on board the train is unknown because at least 100 are thought to have fled by the time authorities arrived. 

“They told us there were well over 100 people on board the train, scattered throughout the gondolas, If they’d gone all the way to Uvalde in those Gondolas, they’d be dead by now,” Kinney County Chief Deputy Armando M. Garcia said in the statement.

At least 90 people were taken into custody by Border Patrol officers. They will be facing charges of criminal trespassing on railroad property. 

Emergency medical services and the San Antonio Fire Department were called to the scene due to the “extreme temperatures” of over 100 degrees inside the train cars, the sheriff’s office said. 

“In the end, only minor injuries were reported. One migrant fainted while exiting the train but was caught by law enforcement officers before she hit the ground,” the office said in a statement, adding that others just had extreme heat exhaustion and dehydration. 

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are investigating the incident. Authorities believe that the migrants were being transported by a Mexican cartel. 

The U.S. is expecting a surge in migrant crossings after May 11, when the Trump-era policy Title 42 is set to expire. Title 42 allowed border officials to quickly expel migrants seeking asylum to prevent the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Thousands of migrants have already started gathering at the U.S.-Mexico border hoping to get their opportunity to cross into the country when the border policy changes.