Group of nearly 300 migrants taken into custody in NM

U.S. Border Patrol agents took another large group of migrants into custody Friday morning near the remote Antelope Wells border crossing in southwest New Mexico. “Border Patrol agents working at the Camp Bounds (Forward Operating Base) early (Friday) morning observed a large group illegally crossing the border and making their way into the United States,” according to a news release from Border Patrol. The 290 migrants included people from Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras. A child from Guatemala who showed “signs of an illness” during the screening process was transported to an area hospital with his father for treatment. “Temperatures in the Bootheel area this morning were below freezing and the smugglers associated with this event showed no sense of safety and or value to human life when they guided this group into the United States illegally,” according to the Border Patrol statement. A day earlier, Border Patrol agents spotted “a group of subjects dressed in camouflage hiding on the Mexican side of the border near the site of the illegal entry,” who were suspected of “scouting the area,” according to Border Patrol. “In many instances, criminal organizations are saturating areas with large groups with the belief that they can smuggle narcotics or other contraband into the United States while Border Patrol agents are occupied,” according to the news release. The Friday group is the 27th large group of migrants taken into custody in Antelope Wells since October. Most are parents with children and unaccompanied minors from Central America seeking asylum. link