A federal judge in San Antonio sentenced Rigoberto Román Miranda-Orozco, 39, to 30 years in prison this week for his role in a 2022 human smuggling attempt that killed 53 migrants. Miranda-Orozco admitted to arranging travel and lodging for two migrants who later died and a third who was seriously injured. According to prosecutors, passengers paid up to $15,000 each and tried to claw their way out of the trailer when its air conditioning failed during a three-hour ride from Laredo.

The tragedy remains one of the deadliest smuggling incidents on the U.S.-Mexico border. Forty-eight migrants were found dead in the abandoned trailer, and five more died at hospitals. Twenty-one of the 53 victims came from Guatemala. The sentencing is part of a broader wave of convictions: nearly 20 people in the U.S. and Guatemala have been convicted in connection with the case, including the operation’s leader, Felipe Orduna-Torres, who is serving life in prison, and his top assistant, Armando Gonzales-Ortega, who received 83 years.

The case draws attention to the enormous sums migrants pay criminal networks and the lethal conditions they sometimes face. Prosecutors say the message to smuggling operations is that the consequences are severe. But the families of the 53 victims continue to live with the loss. How should communities remember the people behind these headlines, and what do you think would actually deter the networks that profit from them?