The U.S. Border Patrol is on track to dismantle more cartel-run hideouts in 2023 than last year as it ramps up its war on human trafficking, according to agency statistics.
Over the past six months, officers have raided 130 homes, leading to more than 1,800 arrests of illegal immigrants in the El Paso region alone, a spokesman said. That’s more than 232 houses and 2,600 arrests in all of 2022 in the same area.
That’s a steep increase, considering that 397 clandestine homes were found along the entire U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal 2020. El Paso, directly on the southern border, remains the top place for immigrant arrests in the entire country.
Safe houses are homes, apartments or hotel rooms used to house migrants who have crossed the border illegally and are generally located in border communities, such as El Paso and Laredo. They are the first stop in the United States for an illegal immigrant who has paid a criminal organization to bring them into the country.
They are often dangerous and unsanitary. “Most of them continue their journey into the interior of the United States, so before we continue, these [smugglers] use hideout houses to hide them before continuing their journey,” the patrol officer said. Fidel Go frontier to local TV station KFOX.
But they are no sanctuary for migrants, who are sometimes held in abandoned buildings without air conditioning or functioning toilets. With up to 95 people held in one place, rubbish often starts to pile up, making it littered.
[“Smugglers] know that if they start generating [large amounts] of trash and dumping it on the sidewalk, it will get attention, so they won’t dump the trash,” the agency said. “It’s kept inside the house.”
In the worst case, migrants are subjected to violence during their stay in the safe house and are not free to leave when they want.
“We have children, we have women in these houses and criminals take care of them,” Baca said. “Many times [the smugglers] have committed serious crimes, crimes against people, crimes of sexual assault, crimes of assault.”
Migrants may leave the safe house when their journey appears to take them to their next location.
It’s when migrants are herded into a car, truck, or big truck. Over the weekend, police arrested a smuggler who had sent 58 immigrant sardines in the back of a Penske truck.
Last year, 53 migrants died of heatstroke in San Antonio when the tractor trailer they were smuggled into reached 140 degrees and they were unable to escape. Several law enforcement agencies in Texas have enlisted the help of residents to report smugglers, revealing that some of their best intelligence comes from citizens who report suspicious behavior.
The Texas Department of Public Safety is offering a $5,000 reward to anyone who informs them of hideouts, the state agency said, adding that members of the public often provide the “missing piece to the puzzle.”
“Common things to look out for are homes where you see a lot of activity at odd hours of the night and then nothing during the day,” Baca explained. “Those are often indicators of a hiding place. If you see anything that could be potentially dangerous or suspicious, please report it. You never know, you could save a life.”
The increase in hideouts in Texas’ sixth-largest city comes as the Border Patrol continues to make a record number of arrests.
In just 48 hours, officers prevented 10,070 migrants from entering the country, the border patrol chief tweeted on Wednesday. “Significant numbers for just 2 days,” published boss Raúl Ortiz.
With removals of US asylum seekers on the rise as the Title 42 order expands over the past six months, desperate immigrants are turning to cartels as a way to enter the country. The United States is on track to have the most migrants crossing its border, with at least 1.3 million migrants arrested at the border since October, according to US Customs and Border Protection, the parent agency.
Suspicious activity can be reported to Customs and Border Protection by calling 1-800-635-2509. Reports to the Texas Department of Public Safety can be made by calling 1-800-252-TIPS.
