Officials and politicians naturally expressed shock and horror at the deaths of 10 migrants crammed into a sweltering tractor-trailer in San Antonio the night of July 22. The political class blamed human traffickers; the truck’s driver, who appears to be African American, may face the death penalty. But of course these deaths were just among the latest in the thousands that these same officials and politicians have caused through stepped-up border enforcement dating back to the Clinton administration.
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| Frank Fuentes |
The death of Frank Fuentes is a case in point. Fuentes, a young man who has lived in Virginia and Maryland since the age of two, was one of the “gang members” and “bad hombres” Trump and Sessions have targeted for removal from the country. Deported to Guatemala, the recent high school graduate and DACA recipient was trying to return to his family in Maryland. Friends said he was pursuing a degree a local community college.—TPOI editor
Human smuggling is a deadly problem—and hardline immigration policies will make it worse
By Marie Solis, Mic
July 26, 2017
Sunday’s discovery that between 30 and 40 people had been smuggled across the border in the back of a tractor-trailer — and the subsequent reports that 10 of those people died from the sweltering heat — was a startling one. But historically speaking, it’s not too unusual.
Deadly human smuggling has been a problem for decades. Aggressive anti-immigration policies and rhetoric have only made the practice more commonplace, with smugglers or “coyotes” making millions off of immigrants desperate to enter the United States.
With President Donald Trump in office, experts said the problem may only grow worse.[…]
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Victim of Hot Tractor-Trailer in Texas Was Va. High School Graduate
"Frank learned from his mistakes, but he was robbed at a shot to fulfill his dreams. A broken immigration system within a broken, less than fortunate community. Frank was on his way to receiving an associate's degree at Nova. Do you know the positive impact that would have had on the Fuentes family?"
By Jackie Bensen, NBC4 Washington
July 25, 2017
Two years before he suffocated to death in the sweltering cargo area of a tractor-trailer in Texas, Frank Guisseppe Fuentes graduated from J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, Virginia.
At least 100 people were found crammed inside a big-rig trailer Sunday morning at a Walmart parking lot in San Antonio, 10 of whom died, including 19-year-old Fuentes. Many more were taken to the hospital to be treated for dehydration and heat stroke.
The driver of the tractor-trailer has been charged with transporting immigrants into the United States illegally. Eight people were found dead inside the broiling truck's trailer and two others died later at local hospitals from extreme dehydration and heatstroke.
Fuentes migrated from Guatemala to the U.S. with his parents when he was just 2 years old, according to the Washington Post.[…]
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