Large numbers of unaccompanied migrant children apprehended in Tucson Sector

Contributed Photo/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection

Contributed Article/Courtesy U.S. Customs and Border Protection

TUCSON – U.S. Border Patrol agents responded once again to a large group of noncitizens in southern Arizona Wednesday, near San Miguel.

Tucson Sector agents responded to the illegal entry of a group of 197 migrants around 7:15 a.m. Agents determined 147 were unaccompanied migrant children, mostly from Guatemala.

Two days prior, agents encountered a group of 48 migrants near Sasabe, Arizona. Thirty-nine were juveniles, from age 5 to 17. Twenty-seven were children from Guatemala.

All members of both groups were transported to Tucson for processing.

Through June, Tucson Sector Border Patrol has encountered more than 13,600 noncitizen unaccompanied children this fiscal year to date, a 189 percent increase over last year.