CRASH INVOLVING UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS REVEALS SMUGGLING RING
In the early morning hours
of December 4, 1999, a van carrying 17 undocumented farm workers crashed on
Interstate 40 outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, killing 13 of the passengers.
The accident occurred when the driver of the van failed to notice traffic
had slowed because of another wreck farther up the highway and ran into the rear
end on a tractor-trailer. According
to highway patrol officials the stretch of road on which the accident occurred
is known to be dangerous in bad weather.
As soon as investigators
arrived on the scene, they suspected the van was part of a migrant smuggling
operation. Most of the seats in the
van had been removed in order to fit more people into the vehicle. Also, the driver, who died in the accident, had a list of the
names of the people in the van along with the amounts being charged them for
transportation. The workers who
survived said they were being taken to Kentucky, which made authorities
suspicious. The tobacco harvest,
which is the main crop in Kentucky, is over.
Also, most people from the areas in Mexico where the people involved in
this incident were from work in Florida, which is where the van was registered,
and where the driver was licensed.
The US Department of Labor is also investigating whether any US employers were involved. If there were, they could face criminal sanctions for their part in the smuggling.
SISKIND'S IMMIGRATION BULLETIN