Border Patrol: Two borderland stash houses discovered, dozens of migrants arrested
LAS CRUCES - The U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced the discovery and arrest of dozens of migrants in October.
In a news release, Border Patrol said they'd discovered 51 migrants, many of whom were in stash houses in small borderland towns.
Border Patrol says they've discovered 15 stash houses in the El Paso Sector, a jurisdiction that includes the Mexican border with New Mexico and El Paso County includes the, since the beginning of July.
Last year, the agency said they found more than 3,200 migrants in more than 306 stash houses in the El Paso Sector.
Border Patrol said that two safehouses — one in Vinton, Texas and one in Columbus New Mexico — were discovered within days of each other in October.
The sequence of incidents began Oct. 17 when Border Patrol said that a U.S. citizen was arrested at a checkpoint on New Mexico Highway 185, north of Las Cruces. Border Patrol said that the U.S. citizen was attempting to smuggle four people past the checkpoint.
"During questioning, information was gleaned concerning a suspected stash house in Vinton, Texas," Border Patrol said in a news release.
On Oct. 18, a coalition of Border Patrol and Homeland security teams discovered the safehouse in Vinton, along with 20 migrants stashed inside. Border Patrol said the people inside hailed from Bolivia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico.
The next day, agents in Deming, who were tracking a group of migrants, followed a set of footprints to an abandoned mobile home in Columbus. Agents discovered 31 migrants inside, Border Patrol said.
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Justin Garcia is a public safety reporter for the Las Cruces Sun-News. He can be reached by email at JEGarcia@lcsun-news.com or by phone at 575-541-5449 or on Twitter at @Just516garc.