Four charged in connection to migrant deaths

The driver of a truck carrying 67 illegal immigrants pretended to be one of the passengers before he was arrested, U.S. and Mexican police said Wednesday. Two more people who were in the back of the semitrailer died, bringing the death toll to 53. Authorities arrested Homero Zamorano Jr. and Christian Martinez on charges related to the migrants deaths, and two other suspects, Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez and Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao, were being detained on weapons charges. Police believe the migrants boarded the truck near Laredo in the U.S. on Monday. Then the truck went through a Border Patrol checkpoint northeast of Laredo. The passengers were probably in the truck for an hour and a half before the truck stopped, officials said. 

Who are the migrants? So far, 37 victims have been identified, but they are awaiting verification with officials in other countries. Fake and stolen identification papers are slowing the process, authorities said. One woman was identified as being in the hospital, but she later posted on Facebook that she was fine and at her house. The truck also had fake license plates and logos. The man associated with the registration information said he didn’t own the vehicle.

Dig deeper: Read Addie Michaelian’s report in Compassion on the green card backlog.