Kinney County Sheriff’s deputies found an estimated 150 migrants stowed away on a freight train near Spofford, Texas, hoping to escape the border region. The deputies summoned additional law enforcement officers to assist in boarding and searching the rail cars on Friday afternoon. In all, 86 migrants were removed from the train and turned over to the Border Patrol. An estimated 70 or more migrants managed to run onto nearby ranches and escape from the authorities.
According to Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe, some of the migrants were riding on the rooftop of several grain cars and were easily visible from a farm-to-market road adjacent to the railroad tracks. After spotting the migrants, Coe’s deputies, with the help of other law enforcement officers, arrested as many of the migrants as they could. Coe said dozens of migrants, at least 70 by his estimation, managed to escape.
The sheriff told Breitbart Texas that the migrant group on board the freight train was one of the largest he has seen. Coe, a retired Border Patrol manager and current Sheriff of Kinney County is no stranger to dealing with migrant traffic in the county. “What struck me as surprising is that some were not hidden and were openly riding on the roof of the cars — that’s unusual,” he emphasized.
Sheriff Coe believes the migrants may have been doing this to avoid the heat in the freight cars. At the time of the incident, the outside temperature was in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit near the small town of Spofford. Coe told Breitbart that the dangerously high summer temperatures just around the corner are another concern.
“With this many people on a freight train, the potential for death or serious injury is worrying” the sheriff explained.
The increase in migrant traffic impacting Kinney County, which borders the Rio Grande at its western tip, prompted Sheriff Coe to request a multi-state response to the migrant crisis impacting his jurisdiction. Deputies from Goliad and Galveston Counties in Texas responded and routinely assist Kinney County in patrolling the network of roadways leaving the border region.
The increased patrols by law enforcement in the county, although helpful, have still not been able to completely curtail migrant smugglers from causing significant hazards on area roadways. The associated injuries, deaths, and property damage follow when vehicles crash or leave the roadway and enter private property.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, migrant apprehensions have climbed for the third straight month. In April, 181,000 migrants were apprehended in the nine Border Patrol Sectors along the southwest border. In the Del Rio Sector, which Kinney County is a part of, Border Patrol agents apprehended approximately 20,000 migrants in April.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.