290 in group caught after illegal entry

ANTELOPE WELLS, N.M. — U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested 290 Central Americans who entered the country illegally near a port of entry in a remote area of southwestern New Mexico.

The Customs and Border Protection agency said the foreigners arrested Friday near Antelope Wells, 122 miles west of El Paso, Texas, were from Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras. The group included a boy who was taken to a hospital because he appeared to be ill.

The agency said more than 27 groups of more than 100 people have been apprehended in the area in the fiscal year that started Oct. 1.

It is unclear what’s driving the uptick of large groups in remote areas but families make up a large and growing percentage of arrests across the border.