162 Illegal Migrants Discovered in Stash Houses in Rio Grande Valley
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol (RGV) agents disrupt multiple stash houses resulting in the arrest of 162 subjects in one day.
On Monday, May 17, Brownsville Border Patrol Station agents along with Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) received information regarding a Brownsville residence being used to harbor undocumented migrants. Responding authorities encountered 27 migrants illegally present in the United States at the residence. Men, women, and children were confined to a small room and kept in poor living conditions.
Later in the day, Border Patrol, in coordination with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, discovered 21 undocumented migrants being harbored inside a Weslaco, Texas, residence. The residence consisted of citizens from El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, and Guatemala illegally present in the United States.
In the afternoon, RGV agents alongside the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office responded to a suspected human smuggling stash house in Edinburg, Texas. A consensual search of the trailer home yielded the discovery of 45 illegally present migrants, including three unaccompanied children.
Additionally, 69 illegally present migrants were discovered in a Garceno, Texas residence.
The Rio Grande Valley Border Patrol is working with other federal, state, and local agencies to address the current widespread problem of stash houses throughout the Rio Grande Valley. RGV Border Patrol is addressing the stash house problem by serving homeowners a notice that their property is being used for criminal activity which could lead to forfeiture proceedings under federal law if action is not taken. Border Patrol is exploring all options to curb the use of stash houses, thus disrupting the criminal element’s operations, and making the community a safer place.
The public is encouraged to take a stand against crime in their communities and report suspicious activity at 800-863-9382.