Stash House Operations Leads to 173 Arrests
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
EDINBURG (News Release) – Over the weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents disrupted multiple human smuggling stash houses operating in the Rio Grande Valley leading to the arrest of 173 migrants.
On Friday, May 28, 2021, Rio Grande Valley Sector (RGV) agents received information regarding a residence in La Feria, Texas, operating as a stash house. Agents requested the assistance from the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office and Harlingen Police Department. A search of the residence resulted in the discovery of 11 migrants from Ecuador and Mexico.
Shortly after, RGV agents received information of another possible human smuggling stash house located in Rio Grande City, Texas. Agents responded to the residence and encountered ten people, determined to be in the United States illegally. The nationals of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador were placed under arrest without incident.
The next day, McAllen Border Patrol Station (MCS) agents received information of a possible human smuggling stash house located in Alton, Texas. Agents responded to the residence and encountered nine people, determined to be in the United States illegally. The subjects are nationals of Mexico.
Saturday afternoon, RGV agents received information of a suspected stash house in Escobares, Texas. RGV agents requested the assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers. As law enforcement officials convened on the residence, they observed several subjects absconding from the location into the nearby brush. The investigation and subsequent search led to the arrest of 57 migrants. The smuggled migrants are from Central America, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru.
Yesterday afternoon, MCS agents responded to a call for assistance from the Mission Police Department (PD). Mission PD stated they received information from a migrant who escaped from a human smuggling stash house located in Mission, Texas. Agents and officers arrived on scene and discovered 62 migrants harbored in the home. No caretaker or principal was identified at the location.
This morning, RGV agents, again received information indicating a mobile home in La Grulla, Texas, was being used to harbor migrants. Upon arrival, agents encountered 24 migrants inside the residence. The smuggled migrants are from Guatemala, Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras.