U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced in a press release on Wednesday that Border Patrol agents apprehended a confirmed MS-13 gang member who had just illegally crossed into the United States.
The press release said the agents in the San Diego Sector were patrolling near Forest Gate Road early Wednesday morning and were searching for "a group of illegal entrants" when one of the agents encountered six men near the border wall. They admitted to him they had illegally entered the country.
When they were arrested and brought back to the station for processing, one man, a 28-year-old El Salvadorian national, was revealed to be a documented MS-13 gang member. He, along with the five other men, will be processed for removal from the United States.
“I’m proud of the great work by our agents arresting this gang member,” said Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke. “Their hard work keeps our neighborhoods safe.”
The arrest highlights that while the current surge of illegal immigrants at the U.S.-Mexico border does mainly consists of family units and unaccompanied minors, those are not the only types of people trying to enter the country. While Border Patrol and their law enforcement partners have been bogged down by the massive number of people turning themselves in, it has lead to an increase of "got aways," which are individuals who are known to have illegally crossed but were able to avoid apprehension by Border Patrol. The current number of "got aways" is estimated to be around 1,000 people a day.
On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said the United States is under good leadership with President Joe Biden in office to handle the ongoing crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border because the situation was much worse under President Trump.