Trucking News · Texas · October 30, 2026

Border Patrol Says a Car Hauler Carried 23 People Inside Vans at a Laredo, Texas, Checkpoint; the Truck Driver Faces Federal Charges

By Big Rig Daily Staff

U.S. Border Patrol says agents at a Laredo, Texas, checkpoint found 23 people, including six unaccompanied minors, inside vans riding on a car hauler. The truck driver is facing federal human smuggling charges, according to CDL Life, which cited the agency's statement. Charges are not a conviction.

What Border Patrol says happened

Border Patrol detailed the case on Oct. 26, 2026, describing it as a recent human smuggling attempt. The agency did not give the date of the stop, according to the report.

Officials said a car hauler hauling multiple vans entered the checkpoint in Laredo. Agents located 23 people the agency described as undocumented immigrants, including 6 unaccompanied minors, inside the vans on the trailer.

"The vans' windows were closed with no air flow in the brutal South Texas heat," the agency said.

The charges

The truck driver is facing federal charges for human smuggling, CDL Life reported. The driver has not been convicted. The report did not name the driver or say when a court date might be set. The 23 people found in the vans face deportation, according to the agency.

"Human smuggling is dangerous, reckless, and puts innocent lives at risk," Border Patrol said.

What the report does not say

The agency's statement, as relayed by CDL Life, did not say which company owned the car hauler, where the vans were headed or how the people got into the vans. It also did not say whether the driver knew of the people inside. Those questions are part of the case, and Big Rig Daily is not speculating about them.

Quick facts

• Where: a Border Patrol checkpoint in Laredo, Texas.
• Announced: Oct. 26, 2026, by U.S. Border Patrol. The stop date was described only as recent.
• Found: 23 people, including 6 unaccompanied minors, in vans on the trailer.
• Conditions: windows closed with no air flow in the heat, the agency said.
• Status: the truck driver faces federal human smuggling charges and has not been convicted.

Big Rig Daily has also covered how a Wyoming sheriff says deputies removed 72 truck drivers from county roads.

A question for readers

Car haulers, is checking inside the vehicles you load ever part of the job, or should it be?

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