A special Border Patrol operation in the Imperial Sand Dunes area led to the apprehension of 204 subjects.

Agents from the Border Patrol's Yuma Sector's Special Operations Detachment and the El Centro Sector's Intelligence Unit apprehended 175 foreign nationals who illegally entered the United States near the Imperial San Dunes Recreation Area. Twenty-nine additional subjects , many U.S. citizens , were arrested for coordinating and facilitating human smuggling attempts. Nineteen vehicles were seized as well. The apprehensions were made during " Operation Sandman " during a three-week period between February and March.

The Yuma Sector Special Operations Detachment is made up of certified special operations agents from the Special Operations Group; the Border Patrol Search Trauma and Rescue ( BORSTAR ) Unit ; and the Border Patrol Tactical Unit. </s> During a three-week Border Patrol operation, special agents apprehended 204 suspects west of Yuma in the Imperial Sand Dunes. It took place between February and March. 175 of them were foreign nationals who illegally entered the United States and 29 of them were American citizens who were arrested for coordinating the smuggling. Several of the people tried running away from law enforcement through the irrigation canals, vehicles, or on foot. Nineteen vehicles were involved in the incident and seized by law enforcement.

Yuma Sector's Special Operations Detachment and Intelligence Unit as well as the El Centro Sector's Intelligence Unit participated in Operation Sandman. That included certified special operations agents from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, Border Patrol Search & Trauma Rescue Unit, and the Special Operations Group. In order to be a certified agent, they must go through an intense training regimen. The local intelligence units are responsible for analyzing and providing intelligence support through specialized units that counteract transnational crime and terrorism.

If you are a citizen and see suspicious activity, you can report it to Border Patrol by calling 1-866-999-8727 toll-free. </s> SAN DIEGO (AP) — Military officials have arrested 16 Marines following an investigation into human smuggling.

The Marine Corps said the arrests at Camp Pendleton, California, were carried out during a battalion formation Thursday morning at the base, north of San Diego. It is about 55 miles (90 kilometers) from the U.S.-Mexico border.

The Marine Corps said in a news release that information gained after two Marines were arrested on human smuggling charges earlier this summer led to the arrests.

Officials say the Marines are charged with various illegal activities ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses.

Another eight are being questioned about their alleged involvement in drug offenses as part of a separate investigation.

The military says none of the Marines were involved in helping to enforce border security. </s> SAN DIEGO — A human smuggling investigation by the military led to the arrest of 16 Marines Thursday while carrying out a battalion formation at California's Camp Pendleton, a base about an hour's drive from the U.S.-Mexico border.

None of the Marines were involved in helping to enforce border security, the Marine Corps said in a news release. Officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The arrests come only weeks after two Marines were arrested near the border by a Border Patrol agent. The two Marines were accused of smuggling three Mexicans into the United States.

The Marine Corps said information gained from those arrests led to Thursday's arrests.

Officials say the Marines are charged with various crimes ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses.

Another eight are being questioned about their alleged involvement in drug offenses as part of a separate investigation.

Camp Pendleton, the Marine Corps' largest base on the West Coast, is about 55 miles (90 kilometers) from the U.S.-Mexico border.

Marines this year were brought in to help support the Department of Homeland Security in reinforcing the border by installing razor wire on top of existing barriers. Military troops are barred from making arrests of immigrants. </s> Naval law enforcement investigators arrested 16 U.S. Marines in connection to human smuggling and drug-related charges. The arrests follow allegations of human smuggling made against two other Marines earlier this month.

Officials of the 1st Marine Division and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) arrested 16 Marines assigned to Camp Pendleton, California, Thursday morning. The 16 are facing charges related to human smuggling and other drug-related offenses, according to a statement from officials at Camp Pendleton.

The new arrests follow the arrests of two other Camp Pendleton Marines earlier this month. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested the two Marines, Byron Darnell Law, II and David Javier Salazar-Quintero, on July 3 after they observed suspicious behavior near the border, Breitbart News reported. NCIS investigators followed up on information received during the first two arrests, leading to Thursday’s arrest of 16 Marines.

Law and Salazar-Quintero allegedly received money from a human smuggling organization to pick up migrants near the border and move them inland past Border Patrol checkpoints. The Mexican nationals being smuggled during the arrest told the Border Patrol agent they agreed to pay $8,000 for transit into the U.S., according to a criminal complaint. They listed their destinations as New Jersey and Los Angeles. All three identified Law as the driver of the smuggling vehicle, the complaint concludes.

Camp Pendleton officials also announced on Thursday that eight additional Marines are being taken aside to be questioned about their involvement in drug offenses that are not related to the charges being faced by the other 16 Marines.

Officials reported that none of the Marines who are arrested or being investigated are connected to the Department of Defense efforts to support the Southwest Border Support mission. </s> El Centro Sector Border Patrol agents arrested a man Tuesday afternoon in connection with a murder in Solano County, California.

The apprehension occurred at approximately 3:35 p.m., when an agent patrolling the United States/Mexico International Border arrested a group of individuals suspected of illegally entering the United States. The individuals were transported to the Calexico Border Patrol Station for processing where it was discovered one of the individuals a 29 year Mexican Citizen, Heriberto Ignacio Perez- Peña, had an active warrant for homicide out of Solano County.

Heriberto Ignacio Perez-Peña had been previously removed from the United States prior to the discovery of the homicide warrant for criminal convictions such as assault, possession for sale and a DUI. The Solano County Sheriff’s Department was notified and will extradite the man on the outstanding warrant.

“This dangerous fugitive was stopped by Border Patrol agents before he could blend back into the interior of the country,” said Assistant Chief Patrol Agent David S. Kim. “He will now be turned over to proper authorities to answer for the crimes he is accused of.” </s> A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer was arrested on Saturday and will be charged in the deaths of four women in Texas and the abduction of a fifth. All five women worked as prostitutes.

Juan David Ortiz, an intel supervisor for the Border Patrol, was arrested overnight on Saturday in a parking lot in Laredo, Texas. He fled police after the fifth woman he abducted escaped and informed authorities about her plight.

Further details were sparse. Webb County Sheriff Martin Cuellar would not identify the victims, or detail how the suspect allegedly killed them. It’s also not clear exactly when and where the crimes took place.

Cueller did say that authorities have “very strong evidence” to link Ortiz to the crimes, and called him a“serial killer.” </s> The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency says its Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers have arrested “271 aliens as part of an enforcement action targeting immigration violators and those who pose a threat to public safety.”

On Wednesday, ICE said that the enforcement action ran from March 18 – 22. ERO officers made the arrests across the state of Florida, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (USVI).

The Enforcement agency in a released statement posited that the immigrants who were arrested came from 36 countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Anguilla, Bahamas, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Chile, Canada, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Israel, Jamaica, Kuwait, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Turkey and United Kingdom.

Moreover, it was outlined that out of the 271 immigrants “99 had criminal records that included felony convictions for serious or violent offenses, such as 1st degree murder, attempted murder, vehicular manslaughter, rape, aggravated assault, attempted robbery, battery, burglary, child neglect, cruelty toward a child, domestic violence, drugs charges such as possession and trafficking, weapons offenses and abuse of the elderly.”

ICE said the arrests took place in 23 Florida counties, “including 76 in Miami Dade, 65 in Broward, 27 in Duval, 17 in Palm Beach, 14 in Hillsborough, 10 in Orange, seven in Seminole, five in Manatee, five in Lee, four in Pinellas, four in Brevard, three in Polk, three in Indian River, two in Volusia, two in Bay, two in Martin, one in Escambia, one in Gadsden, one in Lake, one in Osceola, one in Sarasota, one in St Lucie, one in Suwannee, 11 in Puerto Rico, and seven in the USVI.”

The agency noted that during the operations, ERO was supported by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service.

According to the ICE agency, “arrested individuals who have outstanding orders of deportation, or who returned to the United States illegally after being deported, are subject to immediate removal from the country. The remaining individuals are in ICE custody awaiting a hearing before an immigration judge, or pending travel arrangements for removal.”

Additionally, it was also outlined that the “targeted individuals in this operation were amenable to arrest and removal under the Immigration and Nationality Act.” </s> The US military said on Thursday it had arrested 16 Marines on human trafficking and drug-related charges.

The group was taken into custody during a battalion formation at Camp Pendleton, a major Marine base in California about 65 miles (90 kilometers) north of the Mexican border.

"The 16 Marines were arrested for alleged involvement in various illegal activities ranging from human smuggling to drug-related offenses. Information gained from a previous human smuggling investigation precipitated the arrests," the military said in a statement.

It added that eight other Marines "were taken aside to be questioned on their involvement in alleged drug offenses unrelated to today's arrests."

Marine spokeswoman Major Kendra Motz said the charges were a "mixed bag" and not all of the arrested Marines were accused of human trafficking.

Thursday's arrests came after Marines Byron Darnell Law II and David Javier Salazar-Quintero were taken into custody earlier in the month for allegedly smuggling undocumented Mexican migrants into the US.

The pair were charged after three Mexican nationals who were prepared to pay $8,000 "to be smuggled into the United States" were found in the back of their vehicle about six miles over the border, a court document said.

Motz said the case against Law and Salazar-Quintero "identified the allegations" against the 16 Marines arrested Thursday, who also belonged to the same unit at Camp Pendleton as the two men.

"There could potentially be a connection" between the cases, Motz said, declining to give further details as both investigations remain ongoing.

Similar instances of US military members helping migrants enter the US were reported in 2014, 2017 and last year.

The military said the Marines arrested Thursday were not part of the military deployment ordered to the US-Mexico border as part of President Donald Trump's plan to stem the flow of undocumented migrants.
During a three-week US Border Patrol Operation Sandman near Yuma, Arizona, there are 204 arrests for human smuggling.