On Saturday, the Tucson, Arizona, Border Patrol announced it had apprehended 10,000 illegal immigrants in the past week—up by around 1,000 from the week before.
In a tweet, Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin reported that his team apprehended 10,000 illegal immigrants and intercepted 21 human smuggling attempts in the Tucson, Arizona, border area.
Tucson agents made 11 seizures of narcotics, including 6 pounds of fentanyl and an equal amount of methamphetamine.
Border agents also seized three firearms.
The $83,000 worth of fentanyl pills were found by Nogales Station agents inside an abandoned backpack located underneath the rear seat of a passenger shuttle van during a secondary inspection.
Mr. Modlin also reported the rescue of 430 illegal immigrants who fell prey to the scorching summer heat of the Arizona desert. By way of example, he shared a photo of a 45-year-old Guatemalan woman receiving medical attention in the wilderness at night.
The woman, who crossed the border in the Baboquivari Mountains on July 21, suffered from severe dehydration and a leg injury.
“After providing lifesaving aid, #BORSTAR agents litter-carried the woman through rigorous terrain to meet [Arizone Department of Public Safety] for an airlift to a hospital,” Mr. Modlin wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“The unforgiving desert heat can be life-threatening,” Mr. Modlin said. “With temperatures soaring well above 100 degrees, it only takes minutes for heat exhaustion and dehydration to set in. Those attempting to cross the border illegally underestimate the intensity of the heat and vastness of the desert.”
“The dangers are real, do not cross,” he added.
On July 24, Border Patrol agents at Ajo Station encountered a group of 194 illegal immigrants, the chief said in a Friday tweet. “The group consisted of single adults and family units from 16 different nations.”
“Tucson Sector agents continue to respond to these large groups and work through the challenges they present,” he added.
The apprehension of 10,000 illegal immigrants in just one week indicates a steep increase in the influx at the Tucson Sector.
Last month, Tucson Sector agents apprehended a total of 24,360 migrants trying to cross the border illegally. The year-to-date total for the sector tallies to 235,000 apprehensions, up 40,000 from the previous year, and significantly higher from the two years prior.
According to Breitbart Texas, the increased apprehensions in Arizona are partly due to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star, a border protection initiative launched in 2021 “to fill in the dangerous gaps created by President [Joe] Biden’s reckless open border policies,” according to the governor’s office.
The June Nationwide Encounters Report from U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported a drop in illegal immigrant apprehensions of more than 11 percent compared to the previous year.
“States like Arizona are following President Biden’s lead, allowing even more migrants to surge into our country while Texas is holding the line,” the governor’s press secretary told Breitbart.
“Increased apprehensions in border states west of Texas show our deterrence strategies are effective, as migrants choose to illegally cross in states that have left the door wide open for them,” he added.