Agents Find 62 Illegal Immigrants In Home

Agents find 62 illegal immigrants in home

The San Angelo Standard-Times (TX), August 27, 2008
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2008/aug/27/agents-find-62-
illegal-immigrants-in-home/

Edinburg, TX — Federal agents found 62 illegal immigrants in a two-bedroom house after receiving a tip about suspicious activity in a quiet neighborhood Tuesday.

Neighbors on both sides of the duplex where Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents found the immigrants were shocked by the news.

'I was just looking around thinking 'where would they all fit,' ' said Cris Melaragno, who lives in another duplex next door. 'I barely have room for me and my three kids.'

Melaragno said she had spoken with her neighbors who shared the duplex with the stash house and they had never heard a sound.

The only thing that seemed suspicious in hindsight was a man who always entered the house after closing the garage door and who drove a variety of pickup trucks and jeeps, Melaragno said.

The Border Patrol received a phone call reporting suspicious activity at the home Tuesday and went to check it out with ICE and the Edinburg Police Department, said Border Patrol spokesman Dan Doty.

Inside they found 62 people who appeared to be in good health. It was unknown how long they had been in the house, Doty said.