A vigil organzed by several immigrant rights groups showed support at San Fernando Cathedral last night for the victims of the human trafficking scheme which has left nine illegal immigrants dead and another 20 in the hospital suffering from critical injuries, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
"Immigrants lost their lives trying to find refuge from violence, war, and poverty," Bonnie Hurtado of the immigrant rights group RAICES told the rally.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement now says 39 people were inside the 18 wheeler parked behind a Walmart store at I-35 and Highway 16 early Sunday when police arrived. 38 were found inside the truck, and another was found hiding in the nearby woods.
Police say eight people were found dead inside the trailer, while another died at a hospital. All of the dead were adult males, although officials say there are teens as young as 15 among the critically wounded.
Hurtado says San Antonio needs to stand firm in support of immigrants of all types, a sentiment shared by Archbishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller.
"There are no words to convey the sadness, despair, and yes, even anger we feel at learning of the completely senseless deaths of people who died as human smuggling or trafficking victims from heat exhaustion and suffocation in San Antonio," he said. "This is an incomprehensible tragedy."
In fact, RAICES blasted the San Antonio Police Department for allowing ICE to handle much of the investigation, claiming that ICE 'has its own track record of causing migrant deaths, and criminalizing, detaining, and deporting vulnerable populations.'
"We resist all attempts to dehumanize the victims of this tragedy," the group said.