Mexican Cartel human smuggling operations in Texas have suffered several significant hits at the hands of law enforcement officers who have been targeting their “stash houses” (where large numbers of people who have been illegally smuggled across the border await transport deeper into the state).
Since the beginning of May, federal and state officers have reported the arrests of 150 illegal aliens resulting from a series of stash house raids along the Texas border.
The latest stash house bust (pictured above) reported by authorities on June 9, 2026. occurred in Laredo. 42 illegal aliens - most of them from Mexico - were taken into custody and processed for deportation.
The day before, Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol Agents raided a Palmview motel whose rooms were being used as a stash house by a different cartel. An undisclosed number of people were taken into custody there.
On June 5, 2026, Border Patrol Agents raided another Laredo stash house. They found 14 illegal aliens (13 Mexicans and 1 Guatemalan) there and arrested another illegal alien, whom they determined was operating the stash house for a human smuggling group.
“Stash houses have no business in our neighborhoods! We are actively targeting and dismantling these illicit operations and will not allow criminal cartel networks to turn residential communities into criminal hubs.” -US Border Patrol Chief Rosario “Pete” Vasquez
On June 1, 2026, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Agents took 16 illegal aliens into custody (with the assistance of Mercedes, Texas Police) following a tip that a home there was being used as a stash house. According to BorderReport.com, those arrested were from Nepal, Albania, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala.
That is a total of 72 arrests reported this month, which follows the reported arrests of 78 illegal aliens in a series of stash house raids by authorities along the Texas border in May.
Some of those raids resulted in the arrests of several gang members:
Two “Rollin’ 30s Crips” gang members were found among four illegal immigrants from Honduras inside a motel room in Eagle Pass that was being used as a stash house. Two US citizens in the room were also arrested for running that operation.
Several heavily-tattooed men (indicative of gang affiliation) were found among 29 illegal aliens arrested inside a stash house near Laredo. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) says one of those was linked to the violent “Tango Blast” gang, which is known to work with Mexican Cartels.
A confirmed member of the “Tren De Aragua” gang (who had been deported from the US multiple times before) was found among four illegal aliens from Venezuela inside an El Paso stash house raided by agents from the Border Patrol, Customs & Border Protection, and ICE.
As of May 21, 2026, the El Paso Sector of the Border Patrol reported raiding 185 stash houses, resulting in the arrests of 1,800 migrants this year.
Their shrines to “Santa Muerte” (a popular religious figure in prisons), like the one shown below, found during a Laredo stash house raid last month, don’t seem to be working too well!
(The figures cited in this article are compiled from public reports by Texas state and federal law enforcement agencies.)
How much of a dent do you think these “stash house” raids have made in the Mexican Cartels’ human smuggling operations in Texas?
Share your opinion in a comment to this story!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
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