49 Migrants Held Against Their Will by Armed Smugglers near Border in Texas

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents teamed up with local police to bust a human stash house. The agents rescued 49 migrants being held against their will by armed smugglers.

Laredo Police Department officials contacted Border Patrol agents at the Laredo South Station on March 23 regarding a possible stash house, according to information obtained from Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials. Officials received the information from two separate sources.

Border Patrol agents teamed up with LPD officers to conduct a welfare check at a residence on the city’s south side. During the welfare check, agents discovered 49 people being held against their will in multiple apartments on the property, officials stated. The agents conducted immigration interviews on the migrants and identified them as foreign nationals from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico.

Officials searched the residences and found multiple firearms. The Laredo Police Department seized the firearms.

Border Patrol agents noted that none of the migrants packed in the small homes had protective equipment to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus. Agents took the migrants into custody and transported them to the Laredo South Station for processing.

Officials said the group included two unaccompanied minor children. They did not say if there any other family units within the group.

“The collaborative work done by the officers and agents involved resulted in the apprehension of forty-nine persons, including two unaccompanied minor children, and the seizure of multiple firearms,” Laredo Sector Chief Patrol Agent Andy Hudak. This case highlights the dangerous nature of stash houses and their proximity and potential danger to neighboring residences and community.”