U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced in a press release that 10 illegal aliens were arrested earlier this month and nine of them had been using Social Security numbers belonging to living and deceased U.S. citizens.
Border Patrol agents working an immigration checkpoint in Salton City, California, encountered a group of vehicles caravaning together on Aug 12. Agents learned that one of the drivers and nine of the passengers were illegally present in the United States. All 10 illegal aliens -- nine men and one woman -- were determined to be Mexican nationals. According to the press release, the "group was part of a privately contracted fire crew from Oregon traveling north from Calexico after briefly working in the area before their encounter with Border Patrol."
After being taken for further processing, nine of the 10 illegal aliens were found to be using Social Security numbers belonging to living and deceased U.S. citizens. A search of the individuals' possessions also revealed that three of the subjects had obtained fraudulently lawful permanent resident cards.
The illegal aliens were presented for prosecution under charges of identity theft and the case remains under investigation.