14 DAY TRIAL // Houston Police found more than 100 illegal immigrants hidden in a suspected stash house in south Harris County, during a raid on Wednesday morning, according to Houston Chronicle.
The 100 people, believed to have entered the country illegally, were being held against their will by smugglers inside a house in the 14700 block of Almeda School Road. Authorities began monitoring the house after they had received a report of kidnapping on Tuesday night.
A 24-year-old woman's mother called the police, after a smuggler or coyote, who reportedly received money to bring people across the border from Mexico, didn't show up at the meeting place where he should have turned over the immigrants, a pregnant woman and her two children, ages 5 and 7.
At 10 a.m. on Wednesday, the police stopped two men in a vehicle, who were leaving the house. Inside the suspects' car, officers found two guns and evidence of what appeared to be a human smuggling operation.
Once they entered the house, the police officers discovered a “sea of people,” reportedly stacked on top of each other and looking miserable.
Houston Police Department informed that a total of 110 people were held against their will for up to two weeks in the tiny, single-stored house, in filthy and unhealthy conditions.
“They saw dozens and dozens of people in a very tight residence, cramped in like you would normally see animals. They were hungry and tired,” John Cannon, spokeman for Houston Police Department, said.
“The smell and conditions were just awful. There is no hot water in the house. There is a toilet that partially works - one bathroom for in excess of 100 people,” he added.
The men were wearing only underwear and smugglers had confiscated everyone's shoes, so they couldn't run away. The doors of the approximately 2,200-square foot (204.3-square meters) house were locked from the outside.
Authorities say that the hostages – 94 men, 14 women and two children – will be turned over to the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). They plan to interview, fingerprint, examine and offer a meal to the people found crammed inside the home.
Five smugglers were arrested by Houston police, and the case would be forwarded to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
An ICE representative said that this was the largest operation they've encountered in the Houston region in the last seven years.
“This case demonstrates the human tragedy that occurs as a result of our broken borders. Last year over 100,000 people entered the United States illegally through Texas alone and the Department of Homeland Security has no plan to stop the flow,” U.S. Rep. Mike McCaul told the Houston Chronicle.