Men, women, children who are undocumented immigrants, smuggled into the country and ultimately land here in Houston.
The bust happened at a small home on Brumbley Street near Fennell Street in southeast Houston. From SkyEye 13 HD, ICE officers could be seen at the house.
Police arrested one person. An anonymous tip led authorities here Tuesday morning. Neighbors were stunned.
Inside this seemingly quiet single family home on Brumbley were dozens of suspected undocumented immigrants from Guatemala and Honduras. Thirty-six people in all -- 25 men, five women, four boys and two girls -- were led out of the home in handcuffs and loaded onto a bus that would take them to a detention center for processing.
Neighbor Jose Vega told us he doesn't know what to think anymore. He and his family live behind the drop house. His son says he heard frequent banging and hammering as if someone had been building something.
"I was just very surprised that people have been smuggling people into this house. I was just very surprised by that," said neighbor Joshua Vega.
Suspected illegals often put their trust in "coyotes" and in some cases pay them thousands of dollars to smuggle them across the border. All too often they are held hostage -- their families back home forced to pay even more money. Endings like this are all too common.
"It's sad, you know. I know what they do to get here. They pay lots of money to get here and I'm sorry they have to go back," said Esmerelda Garcia.
This is the second stash house busted in less than a week in the Houston area. On Friday, we told you about a separate case uncovered at a home on Hiram Clarke.
Authorities found 49 men, women and teenagers living in a 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house. The undocumented immigrants came from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. Investigators were reacting to a tip that people were being held for ransom.
