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Border Patrol Arrests In Maine Illustrate The Extent Of The Immigration Crisis, Official Says

REUTERS/Loren Elliott

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Jason Hopkins Immigration and politics reporter
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Border Patrol arrests in Maine sparked renewed calls for Congress to address the immigration crisis, and the agency highlighted the necessity for public cooperation.

While performing routine duties in Auburn, Maine, Border Patrol agents arrested three individuals who had entered the U.S. illegally — two were Mexican nationals and the third was from Honduras, Customs and Border Protection revealed to the Daily Caller News Foundation. Two of them illegally crossed into the U.S. through El Paso and Rio Grande City, Texas in 2019 and 2018. The two travelled across Texas and Florida before finally reaching Maine.

The third individual illegally entered the country through Douglas, Arizona. Immigration officials later learned that the alien had been arrested twice in 2006 for driving without a license and driving under the influence in California. It’s not immediately clear if Immigration and Customs Enforcement had issued a detainer request, or if such a request was ignored by local California authorities.

“These arrests further illustrate the value of information provided by the public,” Jason D. Owens, chief patrol agent of the Border Patrol in Maine, said in a statement obtained by TheDCNF. “With our limited resources, we rely on the public to assist us by reporting suspicious activity.”

Border Patrol agents keep watch during the official start for the construction of new bollard wall to replace 20-miles of primary vehicle barriers in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, United States April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

Border Patrol agents keep watch during the official start for the construction of new bollard wall to replace 20-miles of primary vehicle barriers in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, United States April 9, 2018. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez

All three illegal aliens were processed at the Rangeley Border Patrol Station and transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations custody, where they are undergoing the deportation process. 

Agencies under the Department of Homeland Security were given much needed relief when Congress passed a supplemental funding bill in June. The bill allocated $4.6 billion in funds for the southern border crisis — helping agencies buckling under the weight of record-setting illegal immigration numbers.

However, government officials are still calling on Congress to address the loopholes in the U.S. immigration system — loopholes that aliens continue to exploit. (RELATED: CBP Chief Said Democratic Rhetoric Fueled Attempted Terrorist Attack On ICE Facility)

“The extent to which the porous southern border is a major vein for illegal migration into the U.S. interior is unmistakable,” an administration official said to the DCNF on Tuesday.

“Without action by Congress to address the many loopholes in our immigration system, aliens will continue to enter our country illegally because they know that if they can’t evade detection completely, a large number will be able to exploit our laws to remain in the country once they’re apprehended, and even be released on a promise to appear in court,” the official continued.

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