Dead migrant found at Sunland Park man’s front door as stash houses in area triple

SUNLAND PARK, New Mexico -- Stash houses are considered a place where migrants entering the U.S. illegally are hidden before moving on to their next destination, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection say the number of these stash houses in the Borderland has tripled since last year.

Although CBP cannot confirm the information because of an ongoing investigation, they believe there are a number of stash houses in the Sunland Park area - specifically near a neighborhood where the body of a migrant was recently found.

"My first reaction, was an illegal, he's tired, he's asleep," said Sunland Park resident Jaime Corella, who found the migrant's body over the weekend just a few yards away from his family's front door.

But he doesn't believe the migrant, who Sunland Police identified as a 52-year-old from Guanajuato, Mexico, actually died here.

"Next to where the body was, you could see where someone had backed up and came forward, like in an all-terrain with truck tires. And you could see where the body, his feet dragged along the floor," explained Corella.

Instead, police believe the migrant was staying in a nearby stash house, died and was dropped off in front of Corella's home.

"From what I've heard, rumors around town, there's several stash houses in the area," said Martha Benavides, which is not her real name. She does not want her identity revealed for fear of retribution from smugglers.

But CBP confirms the number of stash houses in the El Paso sector is growing.

According to CBP spokesman Carlos Rivera, last year CBP uncovered 66 stash houses, rescuing 487 migrants from deplorable conditions as they hid in small living quarters.

However, so far this year, special anti-smuggling units along with the El Paso sector intelligence unit and local law enforcement have broken up as many as 300 stash houses, rescuing 3,200 migrants.

And officials note that fiscal year 2021 isn't even over yet.

Benavides indicated she sees migrants frequently walking the streets of Sunland Park. But it's not the migrants she's worried about, it's the people potentially running those stash houses.

"I think I'm more afraid of the coyotes or polleros as people call them. But the migrants no, not that much, as they usually come here to work," said Benavides.