162 Smuggled Immigrants Are Arrested in Home With No Working Bathrooms
The U.S. Border Patrol on Friday arrested 162 illegal immigrants who had been smuggled across the border and were staying in a four-bedroom house with no working bathrooms or furniture.
“The conditions were deplorable and dirty,” said Bill Strassberger, spokesman for the western division of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. “There was trash everywhere, only mattresses on the floor, no furniture. The sinks and tubs were overrunning and unusable.”
The Chula Vista division of the Border Patrol received a tip Friday that a large group of illegal immigrants was living in the 1,500-square-foot home on Newton Avenue, just north of National City, Strassberger said.
Agents said the 162 included 10 women but no children.
Strassberger said smugglers often use “drop houses” to place people while they wait for money or a move to their final destination.
“We always see numbers in the double digits, but nothing like this in a long time in San Diego,” he said.
The INS is investigating who owns the house and how long it has been used by smugglers.
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