On May 7, at 8:30 a.m., George Alvarez drove his SUV into a crowd of migrants, killing seven on the spot and another died while they were in the hospital. The incident took place in Brownsville, Texas, a border town that sits at the southern tip of the Texas border. Alvarez had previous altercations with the law that has led to charges of burglary, assault, theft and driving while intoxicated. 

Following the incident, a toxicology report found that cocaine, benzodiazepines and marijuana were in his system, but whether this directly led to the crash is still unclear. Alvarez so far has refused to cooperate with authorities since his arrest, refusing to submit fingerprints or take a breathalyzer test. 

Alvarez’ refusal to cooperate has made it difficult to determine whether the crash was deliberate or not. However, a witness of the incident, Michael Eduardo de Aponte Fonseca, stated that he saw Alvarez make anti-immigrant remarks as he was trying to flee the scene. At this time, Alvarez has been charged with 8 counts of manslaughter, 10 counts of aggravated assault and reckless driving. Alvarez is currently in a Brownsville jail on a $3.6 million bond. 

The incident marks another tragic event among many to hit Texas in recent weeks. On the day prior to the crash, a gunman opened fire at a mall in Allen, Texas, killing eight and wounding seven others. Three of the victims were children. 

Prior to the Allen mass shooting, another man in Cleveland, Texas shot and killed five people with an AR-15 after he was asked to stop shooting in his yard by neighbors. The suspect was apprehended days after the incident, hiding 20 miles away from where he murdered the victims. 

Victims of the crash were mostly Venezuelan men, but their identities have yet to be released.

Title 42, a Trump-era immigration policy that makes it easier to expel migrants and refugees is set to expire in the upcoming days, leading to an anticipated uptick in migration through the southern border. 

With the expiration of Title 42 comes the fear that acts such as those committed by Alvarez will surface on the southern border as anti-immigrant sentiment will certainly accompany a potential increase in migration to the United States.