Customs and border protection (Customs and Border Protection — CBP) told ABC News that a huge group of migrants — nearly 400 people seeking shelter, got in the country, paving several tunnels under the border wall.
«In 30 years of working in the border patrol I was not involved in the arrest of a group of 376 people, said in an interview with the head of the frontier sector of Yuma Anthony Porvaznik. — It really is unheard of».
Illegals have dug seven pits under the steel border fence near San Luis (AZ), in a sparsely populated area. Monday, January 14, they managed to cross the border. According to CBP, 179 migrants were children; of these, about 30 — without their parents. Some of the large group climbed over the wall, whose height is 12 ft (3.6 m). This 26-mile section (41 km) just 3 patrol agent CBP, said the Agency.
On records obtained by ABC News, is seen as they walked along the barrier. Two days later, another group of 247 people crossed the border near the crossing of Antelope Wells (new Mexico), according to ABC. Migrants from both groups voluntarily surrendered to law enforcement.
Yuma Sector Border Patrol#SecureAmerica#HonorFirst pic.twitter.com/MOWYdpRK6c
— Carl E Landrum (@landrum_carl) January 18, 2019
Mass illegal border crossing occurs during the prolonged government closure in U.S. history. The main reason for the shutdown is a disagreement of the President of trump and Democrats against a wall on the us-Mexican border. The white house insists on the need to allocate $5.7 billion from the budget for the construction of a steel barrier.
According to Porvaznik, their unit really need to improve cross-border barriers, but the first priority, in his opinion, should be concern about these families.
«Issue No. 1, which exists here in the Yuma sector, it is a humanitarian issue, stressed Porvaznik. — As I said, 87% of the detention here is of families and children-foreigners without escort».
A group of more than 300 migrants dug tunnels under a border wall in Arizona to turn themselves in to seek asylum, says Border Protection: https://t.co/wGIsp9teBY pic.twitter.com/68NygvLx1G
— Daniel Lopez (@4danlopez) January 18, 2019
According to government statistics, the total number of illegal crossings fell sharply after a peak in 2001, when CBP recorded about 1.6 million arrests.
A recent poll by Quinnipiac University showed that 54% of respondents believe that at the border there is a «security crisis». While 68% believe that there is a «humanitarian crisis».
