Border Patrol Apprehends Huge Group of 325 Illegal Immigrants at Once
A massive group of illegal immigrants was arrested in southern Arizona on Thursday
Border Patrol agents arrested 325 Central Americans near Lukeville, Arizona, after the group illegally entered the country.
The group surrendered when spotted, according to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The group had been dropped off the night before its arrest about 50 yards from the border, KNXV reported.
At the area where the group crossed the border, the only barrier in place is designed to block vehicles from crossing, not people, according to the Border Patrol.
A large group of 325 Central Americans were apprehended by @CBP #USBP agents near Lukeville Thursday, where limited infrastructure is currently located and smugglers continue to take advantage. Details: https://t.co/0SaXSyvXVD pic.twitter.com/iLJa0jnqST
— CBP Arizona (@CBPArizona) February 8, 2019
The group was spotted by a Border Patrol helicopter because the migrants had a fire going on a night when temperatures dipped near freezing, the Border Patrol said in the release.
The group includes 150 children, 32 of whom were traveling alone without parents or other family members, the Border Patrol reported.
Two juveniles — a 5-year-old with possible chicken pox and a 12-year-old with a skin infection — were hospitalized.
So far this year, agents in the Tucson sector of the border have detained more than 650 people migrants traveling in large groups.
January border stats show a sustained, high volume of families & unaccompanied children from Central America illegally crossing along the SW Border. #USBP agents encountered 58 large groups (100+ people) so far this FY compared to 13 in FY18. https://t.co/ru9AsalgPb pic.twitter.com/b5kZmV0hcI
— CBP (@CBP) February 8, 2019
Large groups have been arrested in Arizona before.
In the Yuma sector, west of the Tucson sector, 654 illegal immigrants traveling in groups were arrested in one week in November, according to the Arizona Independent.
#CBP Large groups of illegal aliens from Central America continue to exploit gaps in infrastructure along the border in #YumaSector to gain access to the United States. #SouthwestBorder #NationalSecurity pic.twitter.com/Hu7X4Z8Zx6
— CBP Arizona (@CBPArizona) November 26, 2018
During a recent White House meeting on the southern border, President Donald Trump noted that agents at the border are doing great work to arrest those who cross, but they can only do so much.
“We’re capturing them. But our job could be made a lot easier if we had support for what the incredible law enforcement folks do at the southern border. Our progress will be limited if we do not secure our porous border and put an end to the human trafficking and humanitarian crisis that is taking place at the southern border,” Trump said, according to a White House media pool report.
“It is indeed a crisis. And, you know, we have right now an invasion. If you look at what’s going on with the caravans, it’s an invasion. There are three caravans heading our way. If we had a wall, it wouldn’t even be a problem,” he said.
“Unsecure borders give traffickers free and clear passage to transport their victims into the United States. It’s a tremendously big money-maker for some very, very bad people,” he said.
“In fiscal year 2018, Immigration and Customs Enforcement made more than 1,500 human trafficking arrests, with 97 percent of that for sex trafficking,” Trump said.
“… And then I have people like Nancy Pelosi and Democrats that say, ‘Oh, we don’t need a wall.’ And they come through areas where you don’t have any form of barrier protection.”
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