Apr 15, 1:32 AM EDT


Minutemen say they've spotted 700 migrants in 2 weeks

BISBEE, Ariz. (AP) -- The Minuteman Civil Defense Corps has reported spotting more than 700 illegal immigrants crossing the Arizona-Mexico border in the past two weeks.

"They're actually swarming through there," said Al Garza, the group's executive director.

The Minutemen have been patrolling the border since the beginning of the month.

Garza said Minuteman volunteers operating in the Altar Valley have called the U.S. Border Patrol to report sightings of 728 illegal immigrants. He said 234 of those spotted were later apprehended.

Since the group has been deployed, Garza said its volunteers have been trying to locate new smuggling routes, which he said constantly change.

"We're having to work by moving back and forth," he said. "Then we wind up three or four days later right back where we started."

The Minutemen launched their third annual April border watch campaign in Arizona with a rally in Three Points on March 30. The group is conducting similar monthlong campaigns in Texas, New Mexico, California and Washington state.

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