More than 120 people were arrested by U.S. border patrol agents after they illegally entered the U.S. last week.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said a large convoy of 128 people crossed from Mexico into Arizona, about 100 miles west of Tucson, the Washington Examiner reported last week.
When agents from the Lukeville Port of Entry saw the large group on the north side of the border fence, they acted quickly and arrested the immigrants, who were from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico. The group reportedly traveled 2,500 miles to get to the border.
Border Patrol agents apprehended a massive caravan of people shortly after they illegally crossed the borderhttps://t.co/DfvXnnY3Tp
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) August 22, 2018
The illegal immigrants were “presumably brought to the border by human smugglers who remained in Mexico,” according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The agency said in a press release: “Transnational criminal organizations exploit the vulnerability of foreign nationals with false promises of legal status and encourage dangerous crossing methods, placing their safety at risk.”
Ajo Border Patrol Station processed the immigrants, the youngest being just 4-years-old. Medical examinations were conducted on all 128 individuals and revealed that all were in good health.
You might wonder how 128 people, including kids as young as 4, got across the border all together as a group. There’s a border fence, right? Adults could climb over it a few at a time, but a whole caravan of 128 people?https://t.co/AP4ktzGZX1
— Mark Krikorian (@MarkSKrikorian) August 22, 2018
Some individuals had previous immigration violations. The group will be removed from the country by the Enforcement Removal Operations division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
This type of activity is not new to the area, but the size of the group was especially large.
In June, 31 adults and children were apprehended north of the U.S.-Mexico boundary in the Rio Grande Valley.
