Mexican prosecutors have charged 11 people with migrant smuggling. The defendants allegedly were part of a smuggling ring responsible for the journey in which 14 people died after being abandoned in the Arizona desert during a crossing last summer. The US has already convicted three people on charges relating to the same incident.
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The INS recently announced that it would move more than 62 female detainees, including more than two dozen Haitian asylum seekers, from the Turner Guilford Knight jail in Miami, Florida, to a residential facility in Pompano Beach. The move comes after months of criticism by advocacy groups of the INS’s decision to not only detain most asylum seekers from Haiti, but to house them in facilities designed for people serving sentences for criminal convictions.
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Over the past month, Marines in Idaho have been testing unmanned surveillance planes for use in securing the border. The aircraft transmit pictures to law enforcement officials, who can then make an arrest. So far this month, two people have been arrested while crossing the border with about 100 pounds of marijuana. While some think this technology could lead to significant improvements in border security, others point out that without people in the area to make an arrest, the surveillance planes are not especially useful.
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Three undocumented immigrants were killed and eight others injured when the van they were traveling in flipped on Interstate 10 near Indio, California. Officials say there were about 20 people in the van. They believe that the large load made the vehicle difficult to control and helped contribute to the crash.
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The Border Patrol recently announced that it will be installing barriers in the Rio Nuevo, which forms part of the US-Mexico border in California. The barrier will stretch across the river, and will allow water through, but will prevent undocumented immigration. The river is extremely polluted and entering the water is hazardous.
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The Border Patrol recently found the remains of three people believed to have perished during a smuggling operation from Cuba. Officials believe they were among 20 to 25 people on board a 24-foot boat. Agents are trying to gather enough information so that the local US Attorney’s office can prosecute.
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