Texas Man Charged With Smuggling 23 Migrants In Stolen Truck

A Texas man from the U.S.-Mexico border town of Laredo has been charged in federal court with smuggling undocumented noncitizens after authorities found him in a stolen truck full of migrants, a local newspaper reported.
Joseph Bridges was charged with bringing in and harboring undocumented individuals, according to court documents seen by the Laredo Morning Times and filed in the U.S. Southern District Court of Texas in Laredo.
Bridges was arrested on August 19 while driving a stolen tractor-trailer in Encinal, Texas, about 40 miles northeast of Laredo on Interstate 35, which connects to San Antonio.
A U.S. Border Patrol agent pulled over the white Freightliner tractor hauling a belly dump trailer after the agent noticed that the tractor had a temporary license plate displayed upside down on the windshield, according to the Laredo Morning Times.
Bridges initially told law enforcement that the trailer was empty, but a K-9 unit was called to the scene and alerted agents to the presence of narcotics or people inside the truck. Upon searching the truck’s sleeping area, agents discovered 23 migrants, including an unaccompanied minor, according to the newspaper.
A hearing date has not yet been scheduled.
It comes after the U.S. Border Patrol found 11 illegal migrants hiding in a trailer earlier in August, according to Laredo television station KGNS-TV. The driver did not permit authorities to search the vehicle.
A state trooper then notified a U.S. Border Patrol agent to use a dog for a search. The agent found 11 people trying to hide in the trailer’s sleeping area.
All 11 were found to be in the country illegally, KGNS reported.
The group of migrants were taken into custody and handed over to U.S. Border Patrol, and the driver was arrested on human smuggling charges.
In July, the U.S. Border Patrol rescued 17 migrants who were locked inside a tractor-trailer traveling along a Texas highway.
Human smuggling in Texas refers to the illegal transportation of people across the border into the United States for profit. It is often accomplished by gangs that smuggle people in vehicles, boats, or even on foot through remote areas of the border.
Human smuggling is a third-degree felony in Texas, and the punishment for the offense can range from two to ten years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
It becomes a second-degree felony if the smuggled individual is seriously injured or dies.
Mary Kapron, researcher for Amnesty International, told Newsweek: “We need real solutions that respect human rights, address root causes of forced migration, allow for safe and orderly pathways to safety, and meet the needs of communities at the border and in the interior of the United States.
“All individuals have the universal human right to seek and enjoy asylum from persecution and serious human rights violations. All individuals also have the right not to be returned to places where their life or freedom may be endangered or where they would be at risk of torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, regardless of their migration status.”
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