Large groups of illegal entrants being apprehended

Becoming a daily occurrence in Yuma Sector

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended a total of 695 illegal entrants over the weekend, with the two largest groups containing 65 and 51 individuals.

According to Special Operations Supervisor Vincent Dulesky, groups of this size have become a daily occurrence for Border Patrol agents throughout the sector.

“We are averaging 350 to 400 apprehensions a day,” Dulesky said.

What is most significant, according to Dulesky, is that the current apprehension figures are nearing the number that Border Patrol agents saw during the height of the 2019 crisis.

“While we can’t predict the future, we have seen a steady increase in the number of apprehensions since January,” Dulesky said.

On Saturday, Yuma Border Patrol agents encountered a group of 65 illegal entrants and another group of 51 on Sunday, both of which had entered the country in the area of County 23rd Street, an area known by agents as the “river corridor.”

All 116 members of both groups were apprehended and processed per current sector guidelines

Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents also apprehended another large group Monday night. The group consisted of 64 illegal aliens who made entry into the United States on the west side of Yuma.

Although there are hundreds of illegal entrants turning themselves in to Border Patrol agents every day in the Yuma Sector, there are still many who don’t want to be caught.

These individuals typically enter the country illegally in some of the most desolate and remote areas of the desert and often wear camouflage clothing and foam and carpet booties over their shoes in an attempt to avoid such detection.

Border Patrol agents from the Wellton station also recently intercepted one such group of 19 illegal entrants in the desert southeast of Yuma.

These individuals, Dulesky said, typically consist of single adult males and drug smugglers.