U.S. Border Patrol agents in New Mexico apprehended hundreds of undocumented immigrants between midnight and sunrise Tuesday, officials said in a news release.
The groups of immigrants were largely Central American families and unaccompanied youths.
Border Patrol agents encountered a group of about 400 undocumented immigrants in Sunland Park just after midnight, the news release said. All were apprehended.
Within a few hours, 424 had been apprehended.
Also, U.S. Border Patrol agents working at the Camp Bounds Forward Operating Base at the Antelope Wells Port of Entry arrested a group of 230 undocumented immigrants around 2 a.m.
Border Patrol officials said in the news release that in far West Texas and Southern New Mexico, hundreds of parents and children are being encountered by agents after dangerous journeys arranged by human smugglers.
Officials said that in most cases, the smugglers don’t cross the border in order to avoid being arrested.
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© 2019 the El Paso Times (El Paso, Texas)
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