EDINBURG, Texas – Rio Grande Valley (RGV) Border Patrol agents, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) deputies, and Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers disrupt another stash house operation in the Rio Grande Valley.
Yesterday, RGV agents received information regarding a residence in Mission, Texas, operating as an illegal alien stash house. Agents requested the assistance of HCSO and DPS with the investigation. As authorities arrived on scene, they observed a vehicle departing the suspected stash house. A vehicle stop was conducted resulting in the arrest of several illegal aliens. Law enforcement officials convened on the residence and observed several subjects absconding from the location into a nearby orchard. A thorough search of the property led to the apprehension of more illegal aliens. The investigation and subsequent search led to the arrest of 40 illegal aliens. The smuggled aliens were from Central America, Ecuador, Mexico, and one national from Cuba.
The conditions of this location were unlike other stash houses, where smugglers are harboring numerous subjects in close quarters, to include removing furniture from the home to maximize floor space. A few of the smuggled aliens were able to shelter in a small travel-trailer with no electricity, littered with trash, and by no means, considered adequate living conditions. The others made rugged, makeshift accommodations under nearby trees, as well as a shed within the property. The unsanitary health conditions of the stash house and surroundings, create a potential health risk to responding law enforcement agencies, to include the general public as we continue to manage the COVID pandemic.
Border Patrol will process all subjects accordingly.
Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation. The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.
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