SAN ANTONIO, June 29, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - The death toll of undocumented
migrants who were abandoned in a scorching-hot trailer in Texas rose to 51
Tuesday, as President Joe Biden blamed "criminal" professional smugglers for
the tragedy.

Rebeca Clay-Flores, a Bexar County official, reported the new tally of "39
men and 12 women" dead, following the Monday discovery of the tractor-trailer
on an isolated road in her district.

She did not say how many survivors remained in hospital, but the number could
be around 11 based on initial figures that officials gave, including possibly
four children.

The Department of Homeland Security announced it had opened a criminal
investigation, as Biden took aim at human smuggling gangs.

"The tragic loss of life in San Antonio, Texas that took place yesterday is
horrifying and heartbreaking," he said in a statement.

"This incident underscores the need to go after the multi-billion dollar
criminal smuggling industry preying on migrants and leading to far too many
innocent deaths," he said.

- Intense heat -

Federal law enforcement agents on Tuesday arrested two men at the address
linked to the tractor-trailer's registration, court documents showed.

Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, both Mexican
nationals whose US tourist visas had expired, were illegally in possession of
multiple firearms, the documents alleged.

A third person, suspected of being the driver of the tractor-trailer, was
arrested nearby while "very high on meth," reported the local daily San
Antonio Express-News, citing a law enforcement officer.

According to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, of the dead whose
identities are known, 22 were from Mexico, seven from Guatemala and two from
Honduras.

"It's a tremendous misfortune," he told reporters.

It was the deadliest single incident involving migrants along the southern
border in memory, and drew more attention to the risks that hundreds of
thousands of people face seeking to enter the United States from Mexico
without permission.

On Monday, the high temperature in San Antonio was 103 degrees Fahrenheit
(39.4 degrees Celsius), and the temperature in the unvented trailer would
have been much higher.

By Tuesday afternoon, authorities had removed the trailer from where it had
been abandoned with its human cargo, on a narrow road sandwiched between
train tracks and auto junkyards.

Replacing it were makeshift crosses adorned with artificial flowers.

"I feel that if these people walk hundreds of miles to get over here, it
wouldn't hurt us to walk maybe one mile to put the crosses and candles," said
Angelita Olvera, who lives nearby.

"Hopefully, whoever had them in the trailer will pay the consequences," she
said.

- Common route -

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said authorities were first alerted
to the trailer by an emergency call at about 5:50 pm local time (2250 GMT) on
Monday.

"A worker who works in one of the buildings up here behind me heard a cry for
help," he told reporters.

The worker "came out to investigate, found a trailer with the doors partially
open, opened them up to take a look, and found a number of deceased
individuals inside," McManus said.

The tragedy came five years after 10 migrants were found dead in a trailer
with broken air conditioning and clogged ventilation holes near San Antonio.

In recent weeks Border Patrol officers have discovered other attempts to
bring undocumented travelers into the country in large trucks.

On June 14, 80 people from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were
discovered inside a tractor-trailer when it was inspected by agents at a
highway checkpoint north of Laredo, a border hub in south Texas.

Three weeks earlier, agents intercepted a trailer with 48 people inside near
Sierra Blanca in western Texas.

Jesus Thompson, 60, lives just across the train track from where the people
in the trailer were found.

"People from Mexico and Guatemala come here to seek the American dream," he
said.

"I would tell the people who are there and who are fleeing to think about it
before coming here, because there is a tremendous risk, and especially now
that the weather is very hot."

- Political issue -

The case immediately became a focus of politics when Republicans attacked
Democratic President Biden for allegedly being soft on immigration.

"These deaths are on Biden. They are a result of his deadly open border
policies," said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Under Biden, more than 200,000 people attempting to enter the country
illegally have been interdicted at the border each month and sent back.

But there is no good estimate of the thousands more that succeed in staying
inside the country.

Biden said he had already launched an anti-smuggling campaign that focused on
the networks and arrested 2,400 people in recent months.

"Exploiting vulnerable individuals for profit is shameful, as is political
grandstanding around tragedy," he said.

The migration issue will be a key agenda item when Biden hosts his Mexican
counterpart Lopez Obrador for talks on July 12.