New details in the arrests of 13 illegal immigrants in South Buffalo
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) – News 4 is learning new details about the arrests of 13 illegal immigrants in South Buffalo. The arrests happened Monday during two traffic stops.
Customs and Border Protection says Border Patrol agents arrested 12 men and 1 woman from Mexico and Nicaragua. Agents say none of them had any immigration documents or working papers.
Border Patrol agents were on routine patrol in South Buffalo in the area of Tifft Street and Route 5. Agents then came across two suspicious vans with North Carolina plates. CBP says the vans were registered to a company in North Carolina, a company that’s owned by two men illegally in the U.S. Agents then conducted the traffic stops for immigration inspections and then made the arrests.
Late last year, News 4 got exclusive access to see how Border Patrol is cracking down on illegal immigration.
“Once someone crosses the border, whether it be here or on the Southern Border, if they happen to get through without being detected, it’s not the end of the story, there are additional layers of enforcement that can find them and bring forth a law enforcement resolution,” said Brady Waikel, the Patrol Agent in Charge at the Niagara Falls Border Patrol Station.
As part of the investigation, agents say they learned the illegal immigrants allegedly travelled from North Carolina to work at jobs here that were supposedly paying $14 an hour — which is just below the state’s Minimum Wage of $15 outside New York City and Long Island.
CBP says six of the undocumented immigrants are being processed for removal and have been detained at the Batavia Federal Detention Facility. Six others were previously arrested on the Southwest Border but failed to report to federal authorities in San Antonio, are being ordered to report. The final illegal immigrant in this case, who had been removed from the U.S. already, is in the process of being removed again.
According to CBP policy, “Authorized officers/agents may only conduct vehicle stops when there is reasonable suspicion to believe a violation of law has occurred.”
Republican Congressman Nick Langworthy has been criticizing the Biden Administration’s handling of the migrant crisis.
“The Biden Administration cannot continue to put illegal immigrants over the safety of the American people increased security measures were put into place after 9/11 completely changing how Americans travel forever and it’s important we maintain the safety and the standards of safety when they board a flight in the United States of America,” Langworthy said, “We have to have tough hard policies in place to protect our country, what I don’t see enough of out of the Biden Administration is a care to protect the American public especially here in the homeland.”
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Jeff Preval is an award-winning anchor and reporter who joined the News 4 team in December 2021. See more of his work here.
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