Smuggler used ultralight aircraft to fly two Chinese men over border wall, Border Patrol says

The installation of a 30-foot wall along a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border in southeastern California may be pushing human smugglers to find new ways to get people from Mexico into the U.S. who do not want apply for asylum. A Mexican smuggler flew himself and two Chinese men in a tiny ultralight aircraft — an open-air, go-kart-like machine with wings and room for one or two people — over the border wall and 35 miles north into the Southern California desert Tuesday night. Ultralight aircraft have historically been used by smugglers to move drugs north of the international boundary, but the Tuesday incident indicates transnational criminal organizations may be testing out a new smuggling method. U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed in California's southeastern region responded around 2 a.m. local time Tuesday to a report of an ultralight aircraft flying in the vicinity. Agents arrived in Calipatria, Calif., a desert town 35 miles north of the border, to the coordinates where the aircraft landed. As soon as federal agents arrived, the machine and three men were spotted near the unlit aircraft. Agents immediately took into custody two of the people standing near the vehicle. The third person launched the aircraft before they could apprehend him and flew more than 30 miles south to Mexico...MORE

A rancher in southern NM has seen the use of light aircraft for several years now. In these cases it was to drop packages of marijuana. Senators Udall and Heinrich want to designate this ranch as a Wilderness. That will limit the Border Patrol to either foot or horseback response.