What started as a routine surveillance operation on April 20 ended with federal agents swarming an El Paso home that prosecutors now say was operating as a stash house, netting a dozen arrests and the discovery of three juveniles inside.
Authorities say U.S. Border Patrol agents and partner agencies found 10 adults and three juveniles in the residence, along with ledgers, dozens of cell phones, U.S. currency, and multiple firearms. Two people were detained at the scene and later charged in federal court with alleged alien smuggling offenses, according to prosecutors.
How the raid unfolded
According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, Border Patrol agents had the Bon Aire Drive residence under watch when two people left the home. Agents followed, detained the pair, and then returned with other agencies to execute a federal search warrant at the house.
Court filings identify the two as Edith Marie Dominguez, a U.S. citizen, and Gregory Jose Daniel Martinez-Tovar, a Venezuelan national. Both were arrested and charged with one count of alien smuggling. The press release says Dominguez allegedly admitted to working with a smuggler to move people within the El Paso area and to Albuquerque in an effort to steer them around checkpoints, as per the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Stash houses remain a regional problem
Border authorities say stash houses are a familiar feature of smuggling operations along the border, providing temporary cover for people being moved through the region.
As reported by KVIA, agents in the El Paso sector encountered more than 280 stash houses in fiscal 2024 and had already identified 146 in fiscal 2025, figures that underscore how frequently homes are repurposed to quietly funnel migrants deeper into the country. Because these cases often cross city and county lines, federal task forces routinely coordinate with local law enforcement to track and shut down the operations.
What happens next
The case is listed as U.S. v. Dominguez et al., 3:26mj1643, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Van Pelt, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The defendants are charged with alien smuggling and remain under federal investigation as part of the Homeland Security Task Force’s Operation Take Back America initiative.
Authorities say the investigation is ongoing and have directed media inquiries to the Department of Justice. U.S. Attorney’s Office.
