MI - 17 people arrested by U.S. border patrol in Grayling

by Devon Mahieu & Connor HansenWednesday, January 17th 2018

CRAWFORD COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) -- More than a dozen men were arrested in Crawford County after U.S. Border Patrol agents received tips from citizens and local law enforcement.

According to the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol office in Detroit, 17 people were arrested during five different vehicle stops in Grayling.

Records show that 15 of the men arrested were from Mexico and two were from Honduras.

Two of the men have been removed from the U.S before.

Investigators say one of the people from Mexico was a convicted felon and did about five years in prison for possession with intent to distribute.

“Any time you can take an aggravated felon off the streets, I think that says a lot," said Kris Grogan, a public affairs officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. "This individual previously was charged with some drug charges with the intent to distribute so that’s a win for us. It’s not just a win for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the United States Border Patrol, it’s a win for our children and for everyone else in the united states.”

There has been a crackdown across the country on illegal immigrants.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says these arrests are not related to that crackdown, it is because of the tips they received

"I-75 is a direct route from the border areas, and those are the areas that we patrol," Grogan said. "We have grown over the years so people see us more frequently around the state of Michigan."

According to the Michigan State Police, who first discovered illegal immigrants in a traffic stop before Christmas, the 17 men arrested by border patrol were in Grayling doing construction work on the new Arauco particle board plant.

http://upnorthlive.com/news/local/17...ol-in-grayling