In the mid-evening of September 29, 2020 the Department of Homeland Security conducted a consensual search at an apartment in Laredo, Texas. Suspicious activity had been reported at the residence.
The search led to the discovery of 14 individuals who were being harbored inside. They were determined to be in the United States illegally from the countries of Mexico and Ecuador. The U.S. Border Patrol took them into custody pending investigation.
None of the individuals were wearing any personal protective equipment.
With a noted increase in COVID-19 infections among detainees, the smuggling and housing of large groups of individuals in stash houses and close quarters without personal protective equipment not only endangers the people being smuggled, but the safety of the United States.
