Deadly crash linked to human smuggling

An SUV that crashed on Tuesday had driven through a large hole in an old section of fencing along the U.S. southern border, Border Patrol said. The vehicle was carrying 25 people when it collided with a semitruck in California just north of the border, killing 13. Officials believe the passengers were part of a migrant caravan.

Why were there so many people in the vehicle? Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said it’s not uncommon for smuggling rings to dangerously pack dozens of people into a vehicle. The Border Patrol said it was not pursuing the SUV at the time of the crash. The vehicle breached the border fence in a busy area for illegal crossings near the Imperial Sand Dunes, along with a Suburban carrying 19 passengers. The cause of the accident isn’t yet known.

Dig deeper: Read Harvest Prude’s analysis in The Stew of the Biden administration’s immigration policy.