164 Migrants Apprehended in Texas Human Smuggling Stash Houses near Border

Border Patrol agents in two Texas border sectors apprehended more than 160 migrants who were being held in human smuggling stash houses. The apprehensions took place in the Laredo and Rio Grande Valley Sectors.

Rio Grande Valley Sector agents received information about a suspected stash house in Roma, Texas, on January 26, according to information obtained from Border Patrol officials. The agents teamed up with Starr County Sheriff’s Office deputies to investigate.

As the law enforcement team arrived at the house, the migrants fled from the property. A search of the area led to the arrest of 59 illegal immigrants, officials stated. One of the migrants sustained an ankle injury while attempting to jump a fence.

Doctors at a nearby hospital treated the man and reported he also tested positive for COVID-19, officials stated.

Later that day, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office deputies contacted Weslaco Station Border Patrol agents and requested assistance in the border community of Donna, Texas. Deputies reported receiving a 911 call from someone inside the home. Agents arrived and conducted an investigation that led to the arrests of 41, the report continues. Agents conducted an immigration interview and identified the migrants as having come to the U.S. from Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Up the border in the Laredo Sector, agents teamed up with the Webb County Constables Office Precinct 3, the Laredo Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations to shut down three human smuggling stash house operations, also on January 26.

Law enforcement sources obtained information about people being held against their will in stash houses. The law enforcement team moved in and found migrants from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. The agents also arrested a U.S. citizen who served as the “caretaker” of the illegal immigrants. Officials said none of the migrants wore any kind of personal protection equipment to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

In total, the Laredo Sector agents arrested 64 migrants.

This brought the one day total from these two sectors to 164 arrests in human smuggling stash houses. These represent migrants who managed to cross the unsecured border undetected and were smuggled into these stash houses to await transportation further inland.

Laredo officials report stash house apprehensions account for only about 4 percent of all migrant arrests in the sector.