Central Americans arrested in Arizona after scaling border wall with ladder
Jan 23, 2019, 2:40 PM | Updated: Jan 24, 2019, 11:37 am
PHOENIX — A large group of Central Americans was arrested in southern Arizona this week after allegedly scaling the U.S.-Mexico border wall with a ladder.
The Arizona chapter of U.S. Customs and Border Protection said more than 110 people were arrested in the Yuma Sector on Monday.
The group — mostly women, children and families from Guatemala and Honduras — allegedly scaled the wall “with the assistance of a smuggler with a ladder,” the agency said Wednesday.
Justin Kallinger with the Yuma Sector Border Patrol told KTAR News 92.3 FM that some people also dug underneath the 14-foot wall.
Video of the group showed people dropping over the U.S. side of the border while other members of the group worked to catch them.
On Monday #CBP #YumaSector Border Patrol agents apprehended a group of 110+ Central Americans who illegally scaled the wall with the assistance of a smuggler with a ladder #NationalSecurity #SouthwestBorder pic.twitter.com/T19JzI3xeC
— CBP Arizona (@CBPArizona) January 23, 2019
It was not immediately known whether anyone was injured, Kallinger added.
The large crossing came about a week after 376 Central Americans, mostly families and unaccompanied children, crossed into the United States in southern Arizona.
According to ABC News, the group of asylum seekers tunneled beneath the border wall near San Luis.
RELATED STORIES
It was the largest single group of asylum seekers ever to cross into the U.S.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Nailea Leon contributed to this report.
