44 illegal immigrants found in stash house
CARLI BROSSEAU
Tucson Citizen

Forty-four illegal immigrants, including a suspected smuggler, were found in a house north of Tumacacori on Tuesday, a Border Patrol spokesman said.
It was the second stash house found in Santa Cruz County this week, Agent Chuy Rodriguez said.
After receiving a call about suspicious activity at the home, agents knocked on the door and asked to be let in, Rodriguez said. They were allowed in and found the house full of Mexicans.
One - a man from Sonora - was charged with alien smuggling, Rodriguez said. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison for each smuggled person.
Smugglers are usually paid more than $2,000 per person for the northward journey, he said.
The other 43 immigrants were voluntarily returned to Mexico, Rodriguez said. A vehicle was seized because of its alleged use in human smuggling.
The other house raided this week was in Rio Rico, according to Citizen archives. Ten area stash houses have been raided since August, archives show.
Rodriguez attributed the increased frequency of stash house raids to increased patrolling in the area and the effects of the Border Patrol checkpoint, which has been set at kilometer 42 on Interstate 19 since the fall.
The house searched Tuesday was located along the West Frontage Road south of the checkpoint, he said.
"They (smugglers) can't get through like they could before," he said. "They no longer have carte blanche to move people."
Rodriguez said the Border Patrol does not give addresses of stash houses to prevent threats to neighbors. He would not comment on the size or condition of the house.
The agency also does not release the names of those arrested. The reason, Rodriguez said, is to ensure a fair trial.


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