Officials said eight people perished on Wednesday in a two-car crash in the southern US state of Texas involving an alleged migrant smuggler.

According to police, the driver of a white Honda was transporting five undocumented migrants and fleeing sheriffs on a road near the Mexican border when he overtook a truck and collided with another car, killing the couple inside.

PHOTO | COURTESY Crash site

A representative for the Texas Department of Public Safety told AFP that seven people died at the site, and an eighth died later in the hospital. According to officials, several of the migrants killed in the white Honda were from Honduras.

Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, US police have intercepted approximately six million migrants at the country's southern border, according to US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

He went on to say that since May, officials have "removed or returned" over 350,000 migrants who do not fit the requirements to stay in the nation.

PHOTO | COURTESY Eight Dead In US Car Crash As Police Chased Migrant Smuggler

Republicans have accused Biden of lax border policies, which has become a big political burden for him.

Biden has requested an additional $13.6 billion from Congress to strengthen the border with Mexico and hire immigration agents, lawyers, and asylum authorities.