TX: 80 illegal immigrants found on former JP's ranch

80 illegal immigrants found on former JP's ranch

EDINBURG, Texas -- A former justice of the peace said he was shocked that 80 illegal immigrants were crammed into two trailer homes on the five-acre ranch he owns.

"I was freaking out," said Reynaldo Salazar, a justice of the peace from 1999 to 2000. "I said, 'How can that many people be in one place?'"

Edinburg and McAllen police found the immigrants Saturday while investigating a tip they would find stolen trucks there. They recovered five stolen Ford pickup trucks, then discovered the immigrants.

Salazar, who lives in another part of the city, said two men who rented the trailers likely were responsible for the immigrants, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Nina Pruneda said she could not say if any suspects had been interviewed.

Police charged Salazar with failing to pay an old traffic ticket but didn't charge him with vehicle theft. The immigration case was turned over to ICE officials.

The immigrants were crowded into a three-bedroom, two-bath trailer and a two-bedroom, one-bath trailer. Of the 80 immigrants, 31 were from El Salvador, 24 from Mexico, 18 from Guatemala and seven from Honduras. Most were female.

Pruneda said her agency was investigating whether the trailers were being used as "safe houses," or temporary housing for immigrants on their way north.

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Information from: The Monitor, http://www.themonitor.com

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

http://www.kristv.com/global/story.asp?s=6286700

Oh please, like this JOP didn't know. 5 acres is not a big piece of property. This is not a large town either. Under 50,000 in population.

Almost all were women! That's a little odd.

I think there is a lot more to this story.

Dixie