HOUSTON (FOX 26) -
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents busted a "stash house" in southwest Harris County with nearly 85 suspected illegal immigrants inside.
Around 5 p.m. Wednesday, men, women and children were escorted one by one out of a home on Boxelder Drive.
After they busted inside, ICE said they found 85 people crammed together, wearing only their underwear.
"Eight now we're going through, trying to find out how many individuals are the principles responsible for the human smuggling and those that have been smuggled into the country," ICE's Greg Palmore said. "Right now, it appears we hare roughly 85 individuals: 57 males, 16 females, nine juveniles and four principles along with cash and weapons roughly three pistols and several long guns."
All this stemmed from a hostage situation involving a 16-year-old girl on Tuesday. She was turned over to authorities in a parking lot off I-10 and Gessner Road. She is being interviewed and medically screened and will be reunited with her mother.
ICE said something about that situation led agents to the stash house.
Right now, we don't know where the 85 people are from, but they were loaded onto buses and taken to a detention center for processing. We also don't know how long they've been living in that house, but residents said the rental property had been vacant for quite some time until about 2 or three weeks ago. They said nothing looked suspicious.
