Largest Migrant Group to Enter Arizona Tunnelled Under Border Fence, Feds Say
The group consisted of families and unaccompanied minors mainly from Guatemala
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A group of 376 Central American migrants crossed into the U.S illegally on Monday by tunneling beneath a border fence in Yuma, Arizona before surrendering themselves to authorities, according to reports.
Yuma Sector Border Patrol state they were “inundated” with the single biggest group of migrant of migrants to cross in the border int hat particular area.
The group consisted of families and unaccompanied minors mainly from Guatemala.
The illegal crossing took place 4.5 miles east of San Luis, Arizona.
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According to videos released by the CBP, the migrants did not resist and formed an orderly line for processing.
A Yuma Border Patrol spokesperson said that seven holes were dug under the border barrier in Arizona.
But the smugglers are yet to be arrested, according to CBP local reporting.
“The United States Border Patrol is constantly building intelligence to combat these trafficking organizations that are constantly targeting them and gaining intelligence to apprehend them in the future,” said Jose Garibay, Yuma Sector Border Patrol public information officer.
“They know that if you travel with a child, or there’s a child with you when you cross, then you have to be released within 20 days.”
Group of 376 Central Americans illegally crossed from Mexico and inundated agents in #Yumasector on Monday morning. Almost all were families or unaccompanied juveniles. #NationalSecurity #SouthwestBorder pic.twitter.com/dWzS0LCgCV
— CBP Arizona (@CBPArizona) January 18, 2019
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Garibay added that migrant groups are increasing in numbers is because they have discovered immigration system loopholes governing large groups with unaccompanied minors.
Earlier this month Mexican police discovered a secret tunnel used to traffic drugs and migrants underneath the border to the U.S.
Footage shows federal police officers scaling down into the 33ft tunnel in Nogales, which is a city divided by the US-Mexico border.
The Mexican side of Nogales is positioned in the north-western state of Sonora, and its northern side is in Arizona.
Yesterday, Border patrol agents seized hundreds of pounds of cocaine at an unsecured section of the U.S.-Mexico border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said.
247 illegal immigrants were detained after they tried to cross the border early Wednesday, further strengthing Donald Trump's bid for a wall.
"Customs and Border Protection said the suspects were seen loading 'bundles of narcotics' into an off-road-style utility vehicle outside of Garciasville, a city in Texas up against the river," the Washington Examiner reported.
