TUCSON – U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday that the arrival of “massive” groups of Central Americans crossing into the U.S. illegally is becoming a “daily occurrence.”
On an almost daily basis, U.S. Customs and Border Protection issues press releases documenting the apprehension of large group of mostly Central Americans being apprehended by Border Patrol agents.
Ajo Station Border Patrol agents on Monday “encountered several large groups totaling nearly 400 persons and Central American families after they illegally entered the country west of Lukeville over the weekend,” said a CBP release.
The first group of 216 illegal immigrants was apprehended early Saturday morning after they were spotted by agents who were using remote cameras. Agents saw the group after they crossed into the U.S. illegally and traveled along a desolate road that parallels the international boundary fence.
That group was composed of mostly family units of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Border Patrol agents encountered another group of 179 illegal aliens Monday, travelling in a group from Central America. They sought agents out after entering the country illegally.
Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan authorized the commander of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers Monday to begin planning and executing up to $1 billion in support to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Customs and Border Patrol.
Those funds will be used to support DHS’s request to build 57 miles of 18-foot-high pedestrian fencing, constructing and improving roads, and installing lighting within the Yuma and El Paso Sectors of the border in support of the February 15 national emergency declaration on the southern border of the United States, said a Department of Defense statement.