The Tragic Reality of Illegal Immigration

On July 23, 2017 in San Antonio, Texas 10 people died as part of a human-trafficking immigration incident.  "More than 100 people may have been packed into the back of the 18-wheeler at one point in its journey", ICE acting Director Thomas Homan said.  However, it is unknown where the truck stopped on the way and where the other immigrants went to.  But what is certain is that these people were being smuggled into the United States for $5500 according to a man on the truck who was taken to the hospital for severe injuries.  Per the truck driver, James Matthew Bradley, he was traveling from Laredo to San Antonio, Texas.

Due to Trump's new immigration policies, raids on illegal immigrants have increased in recent months. President Trump has vowed to crack down on illegal immigration.  This incident is not an isolated incident, however, the tragedy is gaining national attention.  "We don't have any good way of measuring if it's increasing because of Trump, but we know it's a constant...smuggling is a billion dollar industry when you look at the whole border," Nestor P. Rodriguez per the nytimes.com.

Survivors of the truck are now asking for visas in exchange for their testimony.  This brings forward a whole other ethical issue of breaking the law and being rewarded for breaking that law because tragedy struck.

I chose this current event because the topic of immigration is on the forefront and was one of the major platforms for President Trump's campaign.  Illegal immigration has always been an issue, but I feel that President Trump is very vocal about his plans to stop illegal immigration.  Therefore, it gets a lot of media attention.  

Links on this topic:

Texas' lieutenant governor blames truck deaths on sanctuary cities that 'enable human smugglers' http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/07/24/texas-lieutenant-governor-blames-truck-deaths-on-sanctuary-cities-that-enable-human-smugglers.html

Survivors of Texas truck where 10 immigrants died seek to trade testimony for visas https://www.reuters.com/article/us-texas-bodies-immigrants-idUSKBN1AA2SX

Eight found dead in truck in Texas Wal-Mart, human trafficking suspected http://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/23/eight-found-dead-in-truck-in-texas-wal-mart-human-trafficking-suspected.html

Journey Fatal for 9 Migrants Found in Truck in a San Antonio Parking Lot https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/23/us/san-antonio-truck-walmart-trafficking.html

Discussion Questions:

Should the survivors be given visas in exchange for their testimony?

Should James Matthew Bradly be charged with murder?

Do you think that Trump's immigration policy contributed to this tragedy?