TUCSON – A group of 103 illegal aliens from Central America was detained by Border Patrol agents Monday morning, after they easily crossed into the United States from Mexico in territory where the barrier has only a post-and-rail fence designed to prevent vehicle traffic.
Agents from the Ajo station first spotted the group from a mobile surveillance unit early Monday morning. The group was spotted walking through the fence, said a release from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Eight unaccompanied children were part of the group that included 81 Guatemalans and 22 Hondurans, 1 to 56 years of age.
The area where the group was arrested parallels Mexico’s Federal Highway 2, and is less than 50 yards north of the border.
“In the last few months, Border Patrol agents have seen an alarming surge of large family groups crossing the border illegally at the direction of human smugglers,” said the release from Border Patrol’s parent agency.