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Texas border stash house packed with 108 migrants in searing heat
By Caitlin McFall
Published June 15, 2021
A large human smuggling stash house harboring 108 migrants in southeast Texas was uncovered by U.S. Border Patrol agents Monday afternoon.
The migrants were found crammed inside what appeared to be an old car garage, enduring extreme heat and harsh living conditions.
Border Patrol officials told Fox News that smugglers keep migrants in stash houses located near the southern border before dispersing them deeper into the U.S.
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The insignia for "Cartel Del Golfo," which means Gulf Cartel, was spray-painted on one of the interior garage walls – which law enforcement said was the cartel's method for laying claim to the operation.
Border Patrol said the Gulf Cartel is known to be heavily involved in running human smuggling operations across Texas’ southeast border.
Law enforcement initially said 107 migrants were found at the house before upping the count by one.
Officials identified one migrant caretaker during their apprehension near Alton, Texas Monday, but did not confirm whether he was involved in the running of the smuggling operation.
Five unaccompanied children and two-family units with children as young as six years old were uncovered in the stash house, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed Tuesday.
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The migrants arrived from Mexico, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala.
Stash houses like the garage discovered Monday are not rare sights for Border Patrol agents.
One hour after the stash house in Alton was discovered, CBP reported that a residence near Rio Grande City was found to have been harboring 23 adult migrants.
Fox News could not immediately reach CBP to confirm the number of stash houses found in 2021 but earlier this month local news outlet KGNS reported that over 4,000 migrants had been arrested in more than 200 dismantled stash homes.
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CBP has reported nearly 930,000 illegal immigrant encounters at the southern border since January.
More than 180,000 migrants were encountered in May alone.
William Melugin contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-border-stash-house-108-migrants-searing-heat