Human Smugglers Breach California Border Barrier with Cutting Tools

Human smugglers breached the border fence separating Mexicali, Baja California, and Calexico, California, with cutting tools. The smugglers then illegally crossed ten illegal immigrants into the U.S. on Thursday.

A group of human smugglers operating along the U.S. border barrier with Mexico at Mexicali/Calexico used cutting tools while wearing work gloves to create an opening large enough to illegally cross ten illegal immigrants into the United States. The smugglers utilized lookouts yesterday morning at approximately 9:45 a.m. as they cut through the barrier.

According to local media outlet La Voz de La Frontera and Breitbart News sources, witnesses observed the group of smugglers using an unknown type of cutting tools to breach the metal beams which form the border barrier separating the U.S. from Mexico. The smugglers reportedly deployed lookouts while cutting through the barrier and once they cut the barrier, the smugglers moved a distance away and watched to see if U.S. Border Patrol or other law enforcement personnel had been summoned.

After a short wait, the lookouts gave a signal to seven women and three men to cross into the U.S. through the opening in the barrier. The seven women ran in one direction and the men in another. According to La Voz, the seven women were originally from Honduras and had paid the smugglers to cross into the United States.

U.S. Border Patrol reportedly responded to the area after being notified. It is unknown if any of the illegal immigrants involved were apprehended. Local Mexican media report that Mexican authorities did not dispatch security personnel to the area. At the current time, there is no reported presence of the newly formed Mexican National Guard in the area.

In two other separate human smuggling events, Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents arrested nine illegal immigrants to include a previously-deported convicted felon.

The first arrest occurred this past Sunday when Border Patrol agents from Wellton Station observed a white 2005 Toyota Sequoia speed away after spotting agents while passing through Dome Valley located just east of Yuma. The occupants of the vehicle abandoned it and fled on foot. Agents tracked the five occupants a short distance away and arrested them. Officials reported that all five are illegally in the U.S and will be charged with immigration violations. according to local media.

The next incident occurred on Tuesday when a white 2004 Ford F-150 fled from Border Patrol agents who attempted to conduct an immigration inspection. The driver of the Ford truck initially fled northbound along Highway 95 and then changed directions to head southbound. Agents eventually stopped the truck and arrested the occupants. Authorities identified the driver as a U.S. citizen and charged with human smuggling. The four occupants were all found to be illegally in the United States and were charged with immigration violations. While processing the four illegal immigrants, agents discovered one of the migrants to be a previously deported criminal alien with a felony conviction for illegal possession of a firearm in Los Angles, California.

Robert Arce is a retired Phoenix Police detective with extensive experience working Mexican organized crime and street gangs. Arce has worked in the Balkans, Iraq, Haiti, and recently completed a three-year assignment in Monterrey, Mexico, working out of the Consulate for the United States Department of State, International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Program, where he was the Regional Program Manager for Northeast Mexico (Coahuila, Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Durango, San Luis Potosi, Zacatecas.) You can follow him on Twitter. He can be reached at robertrarce@gmail.com.