Border Patrol rescues 11 migrants from locked train cars near Del Rio

U.S. Border Patrol agents rescued 11 migrants from locked train cars in two weeks near Del Rio, Texas. The rescues involved freight trains at a rail yard near Knippa, Texas, in Uvalde County.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that on Sept. 7, three migrants were found locked inside a stationary freight train near Knippa. A Border Patrol canine unit alerted agents to the migrants, who were in the beds of pickup trucks inside the locked train car with no means of escape, CBP says. The three included a Mexican, a Nicaraguan and a Honduran national.

On Aug. 30, a Border Patrol canine unit alerted agents to another freight train at the same rail yard near Knippa. Agents found eight migrants, including a child, hidden in cars in a locked autorack freight car. The rescued migrants included three Mexicans, three Salvadorans, a Guatemalan and a Chinese national.

“Alien smugglers have no regard for those they prey upon,” said Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony “Scott” Good. “Temperatures in this area exceed 100 degrees daily. Were it not for the actions of our highly trained agents, this situation could have had a tragic outcome.”

“Attempts to make illegal entry via trains have historically had tragic results,” Good said Sunday. “This is the second time in two weeks our agents have rescued smuggled humans locked in a rail car at this location.”