Ten individuals illegally in the United States were arrested during a traffic stop in the Upper Peninsula this week. Four of individuals had been previously deported, including one who had been previously convicted on narcotics charges in two states.
U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the station in Sault Ste. Marie stopped a white Chevrolet van on August 12 in Munising. The driver and nine passengers admitted to not having documents allowing them to be in the U.S. They were taken to the station in Sault Ste. Marie for processing.
Further investigation showed that four of the individuals had been deported before. One man named Jose Bernal-Medles, a citizen of Mexico, had been deported in 2001, 2007 and 2015. Bernal-Medles also had been convicted on narcotic charges in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
“Today the men and woman of the United States Border Patrol made Munising safer by removing a convicted illegal alien drug dealer and nine others from the streets,” said Sault Ste. Marie Acting Patrol Agent in Charge Andrew Halonen in a statement. “Our agents will continue to enforce the laws of the United States while also continuing to keep our country, state, and local communities safe.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took over custody of Bernal-Medles and the previously deported individuals. The rest are being held with pending removal proceedings.
ICE also recently detained 680 undocumented immigrants in Mississippi earlier this month in what has been called a record-breaking operation, according to CNN.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi Mike Hurst said he believes the raids are the “largest single-state immigration enforcement operation in our nation’s history.”
Although officials did not give details about what sites were raided due to an ongoing criminal investigation, CNN reported food-processing plants through the state had been targeted.
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Jordyn Pair is a reporter with Battleground State News and The Michigan Star. Follow her on Twitter at @JordynPair. Email her at [email protected].
