The U.S. Border Patrol says that large groups of Central American nationals are surrendering to agents in Yuma.
At about 3:30 a.m. Thursday , camera operators noticed a large group of illegal aliens being dropped over the border wall east of the San Luis port of entry. A total of 108 individuals were in the group , including nine children between 1 and 5 years old and 43 other children. One hundred of the group were from Guatemala and the rest were Honduran nationals. The group was part of a coordinated smuggling operation.
Border Patrol agents apprehended an additional 112 illegal aliens throughout the rest of Thursday for a total of 220 individuals , the majority of them being from Guatemala and travelling in family units.
Yuma Sector Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Porvaznik said , " Coordinated smuggling of large numbers of Central Americans is taking place daily here in the Yuma Sector. They show flagrant disregard for the laws of our country and are exploiting our need for improved border wall infrastructure." Yuma Sector apprehensions of individuals from countries other than Mexico is up more than 200% this fiscal year compared to year-to-date numbers for last fiscal year.
