A fast response by U.S. Border Patrol agents resulted in the shutdown of a stash house near San Ygnacio, Texas.
This event occurred during the early afternoon of October 28, 2020 when agents acted on a report of suspicious activity near the Rio Grande River. Within an hour of the report, the agents had followed signs of foot traffic to an abandoned residence.
As agents approached the front of the house, several individuals ran out the back door only to encounter additional agents who had secured the perimeter of the residence. A total of 27 Mexican nationals illegally in the United States were taken into custody pending further investigation.
At the time of their arrest, none of the individuals were wearing personal protective equipment. They were medically screened and processed accordingly.
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 also endangers the United States.
