Texas state authorities found 23 undocumented migrants hidden in a truck on the US-Mexico border as the Trump administration presses its crackdown on illegal immigration.
In a statement late Tuesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety said officers had searched the vehicle during a traffic stop on November 28 in La Salle County in the south of the state.
The driver claimed to be traveling alone, but migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico were hiding inside the truck, the statement said, adding that the migrants had been handed over to the US Border Patrol.
The driver, a Texas resident, was arrested and charged with 23 counts of smuggling persons. If convicted, he could face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years.
The Trump administration has made policing the southern US border and preventing illegal immigration a top priority, drawing criticism over its muscular tactics.
The administration says that since January, more than two million undocumented immigrants have left the country: 1.6 million voluntarily, while the rest were deported.
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