February 26, 2021
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says its agents have arrested a group of 11 Iranians who illegally entered the United States sneaking across the border from Mexico—one of a growing number of instances of Iranians trying to cross from Mexico.
According to a news release from the agency, agents saw the group near San Luis, an Arizona border city, the evening of Feb. 1.
Border Patrol agents then “determined the group had illegally crossed the international border into the United States. The group was arrested and taken to Yuma Station for processing,” according to the release. “The five females and six males were all from Iran.”
Historically, Iranians seeking to live in the United States who could not get a refugee or immigrant visa have entered the US on a visitor’s visa and then overstayed. But under President Trump, it was very hard for Iranians to get a US visa of any kind, and that appears to have prompted some to fly to Mexico and then try to walk across the border.
The agency said that Yuma Sector agents “regularly encounter people from all over the world.”
“For the last two fiscal years, Yuma Sector Border Patrol agents have led the nation in apprehending illegal crossers from Iran. Yuma Sector agents apprehended eight Iranian nationals in [2020], compared to just 14 from all other border patrol sectors combined. So far in [2021], Yuma Sector agents have apprehend[ed] 14 nationals from Iran,” the agency said.
Last June, Border Patrol agents announced they had arrested three Iranian nationals in Del Rio, Texas. “Agents conducting line watch duties observed three individuals who had just crossed the border illegally,” the agency said. “This group consisted of a mother, father, and child who were later identified as Iranian nationals.”
Iran is called a “Special Interest Country” by the Border Patral, which is alert to any Iranians sneaking across the border for fear they are terrorists sent by Iran. Of course, the Islamic Repubic is far more likely to recruit non-Iranian Shias if it wanted people to commit terrorist acts inside the United States.
Some Iranians seeking to flee Iran and enter the United States fly first to Ecuador, which does not require a visa, and sneak across several borders to reach North America.
