NEAR-DEATH

Texas Smuggler Who Locked Migrants in Freezing Trailer Gets Prison Time

Prosecutors said the trailer’s temperature was set to 33 degrees and migrants had to lie on top of frozen broccoli.

In October, 2021, Texas Border Patrol agents stopped and searched Carlos Alberto Avila’s trailer. Inside, they found 26 migrants locked inside the near-freezing vehicle, lying on top of ice and frozen broccoli with only one cell phone serving as a light source. According to a news release from the Department of Justice, Avila, who pleaded guilty to smuggling offenses, was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in prison. ValleyCentral.com reported that prosecutors showed evidence that the 26 migrants had been locked in the dangerously cold trailer for three hours with the temperature set at 33 degrees. The feds said Avila “personally put a lock on the trailer, trapping the 26 individuals,” some of whom told agents they thought they were going to freeze to death.