More than 70 migrants were found in six houses in Washington, D.C., operated by human smugglers, according to documents by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.
Immigration officials discovered the migrants, 60 adults and 13 children, in six residential homes located in northwest Washington after conducting an operation that sought to uncover so-called “stash houses” in the area, according to the report obtained by NBC News. Stash houses are buildings in which human smugglers keep migrants in cramped quarters, typically without running water or air conditioning. Migrants are usually not able to leave the houses unless given permission by the smugglers.
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During the ICE operation in the district, immigration officials also recovered $95,000 and cocaine, according to the report. It’s not clear where the homes were located or how many migrants were kept in each of the buildings.
However, it was disclosed that the operation took place in northwest Washington, which contains some of the district’s most affluent neighborhoods and expensive houses.
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Stash houses are often discovered in states closer to the southern border, as migrants pay human smugglers thousands of dollars to keep them hidden shortly after they cross the border into the United States. Migrants usually stay in those houses until they are able to travel to their desired destinations.
However, it’s unusual for such a house to be uncovered in Washington. The discovery of the migrants coincides with a request from Mayor Muriel Bowser to the federal government to deploy the National Guard to help respond to migrant buses arriving in the district. More than 150 buses traveling from Arizona and Texas have transported nearly 4,000 migrants to the district over the past three months.
