Mexico Detains Nearly 800 Illegal Immigrants in 4 Trucks, Government Says

Epoch Times-

Mexico’s government said it detained nearly 800 illegal immigrants who were crammed in four trucks in Eastern Mexico on June 15, one of the highest numbers detained by the country in recent months after Mexico promised to step up efforts to curb illegal immigration.

In a statement, Mexico’s National Migration Institute said they detained 791 illegal immigrants who were discovered in the trucks that were stopped in the eastern state of Veracruz. The institute is a government agency tasked with controlling and supervising migration in Mexico.

The announcements confirmed earlier reports about a mass detention that had taken place.

The recent detainment comes just a day after the United States said it had doubled the number of asylum seekers it sends back each day to Mexico from El Paso, Texas, according to a Mexican immigration official. The jump was the first major sign of action after a deal was made between the two countries to avoid punitive U.S. tariffs on Mexican goods.

Luis Carlos Cano, a spokesman for Mexico’s national immigration agency in Ciudad Juarez, said that starting on June 13, some 200 asylum seekers per day were being sent back to Mexico, up from 100 previously. The expansion of the “Remain in Mexico” program, reached in a June 7 deal, sends asylum seekers to await the outcome of their U.S. asylum claims in Mexico.

The program currently operates in Tijuana, Mexicali, and Ciudad Juarez. Close to 12,000 people have been returned to Mexico since it began in January.  more here