A video released by the El Paso District Attorney's Office and El Paso school districts warns students of the dangers of making gun and bomb threats.
U.S. Border Patrol agents found 37 migrants hidden inside a tractor-trailer during an inspection at the agency's checkpoint on Interstate 25 near Las Cruces, authorities said.
The migrants were found Dec. 15 by U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector agents assigned to the agency's Las Cruces Station during a "routine inspection" of a tractor-trailer at the I-25 checkpoint, Border Patrol officials said.
The agents heard movement near the trailer's rear door as they were conducting the inspection, officials said. Agents found the migrants attempting to crouch behind freights. In total, the agents found 37 migrants hiding inside the cargo trailer.
The migrants were from various countries, including Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, El Salvador and Ecuador, officials said. The migrants were taken into custody and taken to the Border Patrol's Central Processing Center.
No further information was released.
El Paso agents found 387 migrants smuggled in tractor-trailers in 2024 fiscal year
Border Patrol El Paso Sector agents found 24 incidents of migrants being smuggled in tractor-trailers during the 2024 fiscal year, which runs from October 2023 to September 2024.
The 24 tractor-trailer smuggling attempts resulted in 387 migrants being detained.
"Smuggling organizations exploit migrants with false promises of safe passage and easy entry, but illegal entry into the United States often involves tactics that not only violate U.S. immigration laws but also endanger lives," U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector Chief Anthony Scott Good said in a statement. "We remain focused on enforcing immigration laws, holding smugglers accountable, and applying consequences to those who cross the border illegally or attempt to circumvent the legal immigration process."
El Paso Sector Agents have "disrupted four significant tractor-trailer smuggling operations" so far in the 2025 fiscal year, officials said. Agents have apprehended 97 migrants in the four smuggling attempts.
"The El Paso Sector Border Patrol regularly encounters smuggling tactics used by transnational criminal organizations, including concealing migrants in commercial vehicles," Border Patrol officials said in a news release. "Smuggling large groups in tractor-trailers poses extreme dangers due to the lack of proper safety measures. Individuals are often crammed into confined spaces without seat belts, adequate ventilation, or climate control -- leading to dangerously high temperatures in the summer and freezing conditions in the winter."
Community members are encouraged to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol while remaining anonymous by calling 1-800-635-2509, officials said.