Thirteen migrants from Mexico and El Salvador were found in a home in the small town of Alton, Texas. And 35 people from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were found in a home in McAllen, according to a news release Wednesday from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The home is a part of a network of stash houses where humans are stashed. Stash houses are a vital part of immigrant and drug and human smuggling networks on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Photos of the apprehensions showed shoeless migrants sitting on concrete floors in barren facilities and outside tiny houses.
Quiet often facilities do not have running water, electricity or air conditioning.
Migrants found in stash houses along the border typically are held by coyotes or guides until they are directed to load into vehicles to try to cross the checkpoints heading north.
Over 60 have died so far this year in Brooks County, 70 miles from the Mexico border, in an area where they typically are forced out of vehicles and made to walk for miles to try to evade the checkpoint.
Earlier in July a press statement from the same source show that Stash Houses are an ongoing concern:
Multiple human smuggling stash houses discovered
Release Date Fri, 07/08/2022 – 12:00
El Paso Sector
EL PASO, Texas – El Paso Sector Border Patrol Agents disrupted human smuggling schemes and discovered multiple human stash houses, that totaled 93 migrants encountered in the last several days.
On July 5, U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector Intelligence Unit, Santa Teresa Station Anti-Smuggling Unit and El Paso Station agents received information of possible smuggled migrants being harbored in the Segundo Barrio area. Agents arrived at the location and encountered 13 migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador and Ecuador hidden inside a small property.
Later the same day, Santa Teresa Station ASU, El Paso Sector Special Operations Division and El Paso Sector Intelligence Unit agents disrupted a human smuggling scheme in Sunland Park, New Mexico. Agents discovered 10 smuggled migrants crammed into a small GMC sports utility vehicle. From this event, agents gathered information that led to the discovery of another 15 migrants hidden in a small room of an apartment complex near Chamizal Park. The smuggled migrants encountered in these events were from Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.
The next day, El Paso Sector Integrated Targeting Team, El Paso SIU, Santa Teresa and Las Cruces ASU, along with Texas Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Investigations agents encountered 25 smuggled migrants inside a house near Ascarate Park. The agents were guided to the stash house by information previously gathered from a smuggling scheme disrupted in far west El Paso earlier that morning. That event resulted in 16 smuggled migrants encountered, crowded inside two sedan vehicles.
All migrants were medically screened and evaluated. Those migrants amenable to Title 42 were expelled back to Mexico and others transported to the Central Processing Center to be processed under Title 8.
“U.S. Border Patrol in the El Paso Sector continues to bust dangerous human smuggling organizations located in residential communities throughout El Paso, Texas. Sheltering migrants in unsanitary and unsafe conditions is a common practice by Transnational Criminal Organizations that disregard the safety of the migrants they exploit,” said El Paso Sector Chief Patrol Agent Gloria I. Chavez. “Community and local law enforcement support is fundamental to identify these dangerous criminal activities in our community. We appreciate the assistance we receive from the public in disrupting these criminal smuggling organizations.”
During Fiscal Year 2022, Border Patrol Agents in El Paso Sector have located more than 156 stash houses, leading to the rescue or interception of 1,684 migrants.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection welcomes assistance from the community. Citizens are encouraged to report suspicious activity to the U.S. Border Patrol while remaining anonymous by calling 1-800-635-2509.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the comprehensive management, control, and protection of our nation’s borders, combining customs, immigration, border security, and agricultural protection at and between official ports of entry.
For more on Stash Houses: