Yuma BP apprehends nearly 450 illegal crossers in 48 hours
Border Patrol agents assigned to Yuma Station apprehended more than 400 illegal entrants who surrendered to them on Tuesday and Wednesday, including two huge groups of Central American nationals, totaling 82 and 83 individuals, respectively.
Agent Jose J. Garibay III of the Yuma Public Affairs Office said that just before midnight on Tuesday, a Border Patrol camera operator observed a group of 82 individuals illegally crossing into the United States by climbing over the legacy landing mat border wall east of the San Luis Port of Entry.
According to Garibay, most of the illegal entrants were family units from Guatemala,
although three were from El Salvador, and ranged in age from 2 to 48 years old.
“We don’t have any evidence right now indicating whether they are connected in any way to the migrant caravan,” Garibay said. “We just don’t know.”
A caravan of migrants, numbering roughly 6,000, has been making its way from Honduras toward the US-Mexico border since Oct. 13. Those in it claim to be fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries and hope to seek asylum in America. It left Mexico City on Friday morning.
Garibay explained that approximately four hours after the first group was apprehended, a second group of 83 illegal entrants were seen digging a shallow hole underneath an older portion of the wall to gain access into the United States.
“They plan to get caught,” Garibay explained. “After gaining entry into the country they will wait between the primary and secondary fences, an area we refer to as the enforcement zone, for an agent to come apprehend them.”
He went on to explain that where the second group dug underneath the fence was just a short distance from where the first group had illegally entered the country, which is east of the city of San Luis.
This old portion of fencing, Garibay said, lacks the improved concrete footer that new wall prototypes have, which prevents easy digging underneath.
“it is a challenge we are constantly having to deal with,” Garibay said.
The second group of illegal entrants was also comprised of mostly Guatemalans, with 14 of them being from El Salvador. The group ranged in age from 2 to 40 years old.
By the end of Wednesday, Yuma Station agents had apprehended a total of 449 undocumented immigrants,
the vast majority being family units from Central America.
Yuma Sector continues to see increasing numbers of migrants crossing illegally into its area from countries other than Mexico, where they are able to exploit the outdated infrastructure.