Agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection found 71 illegal immigrants packed into a single house near the U.S.–Mexico border in Pharr, Texas.
In a news release from the agency on Feb. 24, agents disrupted what they described as a “human smuggling stash house operating in the Rio Grande Valley.”
When Border Patrol agents arrived on the scene, they found 71 migrants inside the stash house. They were tipped off by officers with the Pharr Police Department.
The illegal aliens, they said, were from Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico, and Honduras. Three children were found among the group.
RGV agents continue to apprehend groups of more than 100 illegal aliens along the Rio Grande.
These groups composed primarily of families and unaccompanied alien children (UAC) add to the over 13,500 families and UACs previously apprehended in #RGV, from Oct to Feb. pic.twitter.com/3xvcrQkpsk
— Chief Patrol Agent Brian Hastings (@USBPChiefRGV) February 25, 2021
“Even with the spread of the COVID-19 virus, human smugglers continue to try these brazen attempts with zero regard for the lives they endanger nor to the health of the citizens of our great nation,” the agency said. “The U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Rio Grande Valley Sector will continue to safeguard the nation and community against these criminal elements.”
Separately, Rio Grande Valley Sector Chief Patrol Agent Brian Hastings wrote on Twitter Feb. 24 that Border Patrol was able to apprehend more than 100 migrants after they crossed the border into the United States.
This came as a judge in Texas ruled on Feb. 23 that President Joe Biden couldn’t enforce a pause on most deportations until further notice.
“The Court finds Texas has established by a preponderance of the evidence that it could reasonably expect a 100-day pause to lead to a significant number of criminal aliens and unaccompanied children moving freely within and into Texas who would otherwise be removed,” Judge Drew Tipton wrote in the 105-page order.
Also on Feb. 24, Biden issued a proclamation to revoke an immigration restriction issued by former President Donald Trump in 2020 amid the CCP virus pandemic.
In April 2020, Trump issued Proclamation 10014 to suspend entry into the United States for 60 days to foreigners who didn’t have a valid immigrant visa or official travel document. The order also suspended new green cards that allowed for permanent residency to most foreigners looking to settle in the country.
The proclamation had several exceptions, including for foreigners entering the country on an immigrant visa as a health care professional to work on alleviating the outbreak caused by the CCP virus.
Mimi Nguyen-Ly contributed to this report.
