Thread: Feds, locals arrest 200 illegal immigrants

http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/new ... 957977.htm

Posted on Sat, Feb. 25, 2006
Feds, locals arrest 200 illegal immigrants
Associated Press

EL PASO, Texas - El Paso County Sheriff's deputies and U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested more than 200 illegal immigrants in an afternoon roundup that began with a traffic stop.

Sheriff's spokesman Rick Glancey said the roundup started when a deputy stopped a speeding sport utility vehicle about 12:30 p.m. Friday in east El Paso County.

The deputy found 11 illegal immigrants inside the vehicle.

Information from those people led authorities to several locations around El Paso.

Glancey said a total of 229 illegal immigrants were arrested, including a 29-year-old El Salvador woman who told authorities she had lost her 7-year-old son when she crossed the border near Tornillo with her husband on Wednesday.

Maria Teresa Bolanos told investigators she last saw the boy, Carlos Antonio Alvarado-Bolanos, as the group they traveled with got separated somewhere near the border.

Glancey said it was unclear if the boy ever made it into the United States and may still be with his father.

Authorities were asking anyone with information about the boy to notify them.

http://www.kfoxtv.com/bordersecurity/74 ... etail.html

200+ Illegal Immigrants Found In El Paso

UPDATED: 12:49 pm MST February 27, 2006

-- KFOX News has learned that authorities are processing the identities of at least 232 illegal immigrants they say were found early Friday evening.

El Paso County sheriff's deputies made a traffic stop around 6:30 p.m. Friday. Eleven illegal immigrants were found riding in the vehicle that was pulled over. Authorities say upon further questioning, the immigrants led them to the Gateway Hotel in Downtown El Paso, where several rooms full of illegal immigrants were discovered. There were also several other undisclosed locations in the El Paso area where undocumented immigrants were found.

During an emergency press conference Friday night, sheriff officials announced that an undocumented woman from El Salvador, who was apprehended made an outcry that she had lost sight of her 7-year-old son and husband.

Authorities say this latest human smuggling discovery is the largest of its kind in recent years. They say the bust is part of "Operation Linebacker," a coordinated effort between the local sheriff's department and federal agencies like Customs and Border Protection.

This is a developing story that KFOX News is committed to following. We will have more information on kfoxtv.com as well as KFOX News at Nine with Patricia Maese on Sunday.