Tombstone Marshals Stop Human Smuggling Attempt near Arizona Border

Tombstone, Arizona, Marshal’s Office deputies interdicted a human smuggling attempt and found four suspected migrants in an SUV. Border Patrol agents assisted the deputies and identified the migrants as illegally present in the United States.

Tucson Sector Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin tweeted that Wilcox Station agents assisted Tombstone Marshal’s Office deputies with a traffic stop. A search of the vehicle uncovered four migrants hiding in the SUV’s back seat and rear cargo area.

Further investigation identified the driver as a “Cuban citizen pending legal immigration status.” The agents arrested the driver for charges related to human smuggling.

Elsewhere in the sector, Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and Rescue (BORSTAR) agents provided emergency medical care to ta 22-year-old migrant suffering severe dehydration. The agents arrested the migrant near Three Points, Arizona on August 7; Chief Modlin tweeted on Monday.

Through the first 14 days of August, Tucson Sector agents apprehended nearly 21,000 migrants, according to unofficial Border Patrol reports obtained from a law enforcement source. Since the beginning of FY23 on October 1, 2022, Tucson Sector agents apprehended more than 294,000 migrants, reports indicate.