Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to talk border security after migrants found dead in San Antonio
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Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. CT Wednesday to discuss border security just two days after more 48 suspected migrants were found dead in an abandoned tractor-trailer in San Antonio.
The death toll has risen to at least 53 since then, and several others are hospitalized with heat-related injuries after being found.
Abbott will be joined by Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw and Adjutant General of Texas Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer.
The press conference can be viewed live here or on Abbott's Facebook page.
What we know about the suspected migrants found dead in San Antonio
Homeland Security Investigations, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the principal investigative arm for the Homeland Security Department, is investigating the alleged human smuggling incident and has detained three people who are suspected of being involved in trafficking. San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg described it as a “horrific human tragedy” and one of the worst cases of migrant smuggling the city has seen in recent memory.
Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard shared Tuesday on Twitter that of the 53 dead, 22 were from Mexico, seven were from Guatemala, and two were from Honduras, while the rest are still being identified. As of Tuesday afternoon, 40 men and 13 women had died, Bexar County Precinct 1 Commissioner Rebeca Clay-Flores said in a news conference.
More: 'All about the money': 50-plus dead in San Antonio reveals harsh world of human smuggling
Who found the dead migrants in the abandon tractor-trailer in San Antonio?
The migrants in San Antonio were first discovered by a city worker who heard a cry for help just before 6 p.m. Monday, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said. The worker called 911 after finding a body outside the tractor-trailer, with several more bodies visible through the trailer’s partially opened doors.
When officials arrived on the scene, they medically assessed the trailer's occupants, declared 46 people dead and took 16 others to area hospitals for treatment, including four children, said San Antonio Fire Department Chief Charles Hood. Five people have since died from their injuries.
The patients were “hot to the touch” and suffering from heat stroke and heat exhaustion, Hood said. Temperatures exceeded 100 degrees in San Antonio on Monday. Hood said the migrants were found in a refrigerated tractor-trailer that had no working air conditioning and no water.
Contributing: Rebecca Johnson of the Austin American-Statesman
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott talks border security after dead migrants found
