EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — A pair of traffic stops led to the discovery of a stash house and the apprehension of 50 undocumented immigrants, U.S. Customs and Border and Protection said in a news release.
On Tuesday morning, Texas Department of Public Transportation troopers stopped a pickup suspected of smuggling in Palmview, Texas.
The troopers requested assistance from U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the McAllen Station, who said they encountered 12 undocumented immigrants, including the driver. Border agents took custody of the 12 people, while DPS seized the truck.
On Monday, DPS troopers requested the assistance of the Border Patrol after conducting a traffic stop in Mission, Texas.
Border agents said the three occupants in the vehicle were illegally present in the U.S. But the investigation led them to the driver’s Mission home, which was allegedly being used as a migrant stash house.
Authorities, including the Mission police officers, responded to the home, where 36 undocumented immigrants were allegedly being held, according to the news release.
Along with two of the subjects in the vehicle, border agents apprehended 38 undocumented immigrants and took them to a Border Patrol station for processing.
DPS seized the vehicle and arrested the driver/homeowner, who was charged with human smuggling.