U.S. Border Patrol agents working in Hidalgo County, Texas, busted an illegal immigrant stash house where more than 50 foreign nationals were being held.

The agents assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Sector worked with Hidalgo County Sheriff’s and Constable’s deputies in carrying out a joint investigation that led to the discovery of the stash house. The team observed suspicious behavior at a home in Edinburg, Texas and approached the home, according to information received by Breitbart Texas from U.S. Border Patrol spokesperson, Supervisory Patrol Agent Marlene Castro. The agents and deputies approached the home and obtained a voluntary consent to search from the caretaker.

Once the agents made entry into the home, they discovered 57 people crammed into the little house used to warehouse the human cargo. Five of the people in the home were identified as caretakers. The remaining 52 were identified as foreign nationals who had been smuggled into the United States illegally.

A photograph of the house and occupants revealed a mixture of men and women of various ages. Some appeared to be minors.

All of the immigrants were identified by Border Patrol agents as being from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador. The illegal immigrants were taken to the Weslaco Border Patrol station where they were processed according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection policies and guidelines.

The five suspected smugglers were arrested and turned over to Homeland Security Investigations for possible prosecution. They were all identified by Border Patrol agents as being Mexican nationals.

Frequently, illegal immigrants are held in stash houses by their smugglers as they attempt to extort additional money from family members. Often the men are beaten and threatened. Women are sometimes sexually assaulted as a means of intimidation. Once the funds are received, foreign nationals are then scheduled for smuggling past the Border Patrol checkpoints located about 70-80 miles north of the border with Mexico.

The process is often repeated at various stash houses along the route to their final destination.

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.