A home in the 1800 block of Miller Avenue, in Fort Worth, Texas, is under federal investigation into human trafficking.
On Wednesday night, the FBI’s SWAT team raided the residence. They discovered 21 people inside and two suspects, or “coyotes,” who trafficked the individuals.
The leader of the civil rights group LULAC, Hilda Duarte, commented on the matter. The group has been summoned to assist in finding placement for the 21 people. This includes seven women and a 3-year-old girl.
“Their clothes were taken from them. That’s to keep them from escaping and leaving the home,” she stated.
The migrants have now been released, and LULAC has provided them with hotel rooms to avoid having to be out in the cold.
One woman noted that her street vendor husband had been killed in Honduras by men who demanded money from him. Because she was scared for her life, she traveled by foot for a month to get to the U.S.-Mexico border.
The migrants said that they were smuggled in an 18-wheeler that was stuffed with people. Then, they were brought to the home in Fort Worth.
They added that when the FBI arrived to the location, they heard banging and screaming but didn’t know what was going on.
“The first thing I thought is they are going to kill us if it was some type of bad guy,” one person said.
However, the FBI had come to apprehend two of the smuggling suspects and release the migrants.
LULAC has located family in the U.S. for all of them and transportation, as well.
Since the people are victims of trafficking, they will be allowed to stay in the U.S. and seek asylum.
