U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Laredo Sector and Rio Grande Valley Sector recently cooperated in the rescue of 44 undocumented immigrants from a South Texas stash house.
After receiving a tip that undocumented migrants were being housed in a home south of Donna, Texas, Border Patrol agents obtained consent by the Hidalgo County Constable’s Office Pct. 1 to conduct a search of the property. From there, the agents made contact with 44 people, all of whom admitted to being in the United States illegally. Each undocumented migrant was then transported to the Weslaco Border Patrol station for processing.
The migrants were being housed by a resident alien from Mexico who was subsequently arrested and referred for prosecution for human smuggling.
“The outstanding work done by all involved is a great example of how our enforcement strategy, utilizing collaboration across the South Texas Corridor, is working,” Raul Ortiz, acting chief of patrol for the Rio Grande Valley Sector, said. “In this case, 44 illegal immigrants were spared from being held in a crammed stash house and a smuggler was apprehended.”
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of the nation’s borders at and between the official ports of entry.