January 18, 2008


Border Patrol operation detains 160 in Mississippi

By Ana Radelat
Gannett News Service

WASHINGTON - A special Border Patrol task force has apprehended 160 illegal immigrants in the first three days of operation.

"Operation Uniforce" is patrolling I-20 near Vicksburg because federal agents believe the interstate highway is a new corridor for smugglers who once used I-10 to ferry undocumented workers from the Mexican border to employers on the East Coast.

According to a Border Patrol report on Operation Uniforce, an informant said greater scrutiny of I-10 by federal agents has prompted some alien smugglers to use I-20.

The special operation of 40 Border Patrol agents, which included 12 from the agency's Gulfport office, began on Jan. 13 and is scheduled to continue until Jan. 26.

Most of the undocumented aliens apprehended in the operation are Mexican nationals. But two are from "special interest" countries - an Egyptian and a Palestinian from the West Bank.

Also detained is a murder suspect from El Salvador.
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