Neetu Chandak, DCNF

Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents and the Laredo Police Department saved three illegal aliens held against their will in a Texas hotel room by smugglers Tuesday.

The illegal aliens, who were believed to be from Mexico, contacted the front desk about their situation, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) press release Wednesday.

The smugglers allegedly asked family members of the victims to pay money for their release.

Once police saved the border-crossers, they were accordingly processed. Details about the smugglers’ whereabouts and origins are unclear.

Human smuggling at the southern border is a recurring problem, according to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) report.

“They have no concern for humanity, none; it’s a money business,” Jack Staton, acting special agent in charge of ICE Homeland Security Investigations in El Paso, Texas, said in the ICE report. “They look at people as merchandise, as a way to make money.”

It is common for smugglers to kidnap, rape and extort family members of illegal aliens. Transporting the illegal aliens safely is also not a high priority for those wanting to commit such crimes.

A Mexican family was allegedly making $150 per person they sheltered in a “human stash home” in Texas, according to KENS 5 on Monday. The illegal immigrants were given food twice a day and could not leave the house.

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