San Diego
A sweep by 40 U.S. Border Patrol agents along the Tijuana River half a mile west of the San Ysidro port of entry netted 410 undocumented aliens, authorities said Friday.
The sweep was conducted Thursday afternoon as about 600 people congregated along the river bottom, a popular staging area for aliens who enter the United States illegally.
Herbert Gordon, assistant patrol agent in charge of the Border Patrol’s Imperial Beach station, said the sweep was especially effective because Mexican authorities blocked off escape routes to the south, trapping the aliens, who were surrounded by U. S. agents on horseback and in all-terrain vehicles and vans.
Gordon said such sweeps are unusual because of the amount of manpower required and the need for Mexican assistance to block escape to the south.
The stretch of river bottom is a congregating point for as many as 1,000 aliens nightly who are trying to enter the United States, Gordon said.
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