It's just 150 miles between Laredo and San Antonio — but the drive is long enough to be deadly — when almost 100 migrants are crammed into a tractor-trailer with no water, no relief from the heat and only a single source of fresh air for breathing. Eight people died during the trip and two more have died in a hospital. Immigration officials call it evidence of a brutal criminal organization, as Congress prepares to vote on $1.6 billion for the president's Great Wall. While the Trump crackdown against illegal border crossings may be good business for human smugglers who exploit desperation, some border agents say the crackdown targets the wrong victims and encourages racist abuse on the part of their colleagues.
Border security and human tragedy
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Credits
Guests:
- Frank Bajak - Associated Press - @fbajak
- Pete Saenz - City of Laredo, Texas - @MayorPeteSaenz
- Denise Brennan - Georgetown University - @deniseebrennan
- Jonathan Blitzer - staff writer at The New Yorker covering immigration - @JonathanBlitzer