Over the last week, 70 illegal aliens were arrested in two different “stash houses” operating as Airbnb’s, which is becoming a popular tactic of human smuggling rings.

As Breitbart reports, the arrests were carried out by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

“AirBnB stash houses is a new trend. It’s become the popular alternative to motels or hotels because smugglers can book them online in their home country, and check-in remotely without having to meet the property owner in person,” Jason T. Stevens, a spokesman for HSI El Paso, said in a statement. “At times, the smugglers tend to damage the Airbnb property at the owner’s expense.”

The operation was conducted through a collaboration between HSI special agents, the Border Patrol, and the Texas Department of Public Safety.

In one of the two houses, the owner of the AirBnB called the authorities to report that the home was being used illegally. Upon raiding it, agents discovered 10 men, two women, and one 16-year-old. All of the illegals had come from Mexico and Guatemala. Also arrested at the scene was an American citizen, suspected of being involved in the human smuggling ring.

Two days prior to that raid, HSI agents had arrested 56 illegals from Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador who were staying at a stash house in the El Paso area.

El Paso has become a popular location for such stash house operations, with nearly 2,300 illegals arrested in stash houses in the area between March of 2023 and March of 2024.

“Human smugglers prey on the desperation of foreign nationals with hopes of coming to the United States to chase the American dream,” said Stevens. “However, what they encounter is the American nightmare in the hands of callous transnational criminal organizations who see them as nothing else than merchandise.”