The Department of Interior says it coordinated with several other federal agencies on a border security mission that resulted in apprehensions and federal charges.
Interior oversees federal land agencies including the National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management, or the BLM.
This was a 10-day operation that ended Nov. 9 and was part of the so-called Operation Securing America’s Border Resources — an effort that has BLM rangers and special agents working alongside other law enforcement like Border Patrol.
The agency says officers made 48 apprehensions of people without legal status in the U.S., along with several traffic stops and drug seizures in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area, southeast of Phoenix.
Twenty-one people have been referred for federal charges, according to the agency. A spokesperson directed questions about what happened to the other 27 arrested to the Department of Justice.
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Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego are calling on the Department of Homeland Security to abandon its investigation into the state’s 2020 presidential election. -
Democratic Reps. Greg Stanton, Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva say they were shocked by the conditions inside the ICE holding facility at Mesa Gateway Airport on Thursday evening. -
As the New York Times reports, more than 100 of the roughly 750 immigration judges have been dismissed. About 140 permanent and temporary judges have been appointed in the wake of those firings — including former DHS prosecutors. -
DHS is now planning something more modest, starting out with 250 people per week and capping occupied beds at 542, according to Surprise Mayor Kevin Sartor. -
A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat from Arizona, said that Kelly had called DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin regarding Annie Ramos’ detention. Her husband has family in Arizona.
