Tucson Standard

There have been 452,520 total encounters in the Tucson Sector during fiscal year 2024, which is up 40.3% from last year’s number of 322,624 encounters.

According to an analysis of CBP Data conducted by Tucson Standard, during fiscal year 2024, CBP arrested 45,402 illegal aliens who have previous criminal convictions or who are wanted by law enforcement.

Approximately 16,465 of these arrests have been made by the U.S. Border Patrol, and 28,937 of these arrests have been made by the CBP’s Office of Field Operations.

CBP has reported more than 2.7 million illegal alien encounters during Fiscal Year 2024, while there were only 646,822 in Fiscal Year 2020.

The CBP’s 2024 fiscal year runs from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.

John R. Modlin, U.S. Border Patrol’s chief patrol agent in the Tucson Sector, regularly posts on X reports of arrests of these illegal alien encounters.

“Brian A. Terry Station agents apprehended a convicted Paisas gang member after he illegally crossed the border near Bisbee, AZ. Efrain Rivas-Garcia, a Mexican national, has felony convictions including dangerous drug possession and illegal re-entry. He faces federal prosecution,” Modlin wrote in a Sept. 3 social media post on X.

“Jose Garcia Samaniego faces felony charges for illegal re-entry following his arrest by Nogales Station agents on September 9th. The Mexican citizen has misdemeanor convictions in Nebraska and was previously convicted for felony illegal re-entry after deportation,” Modlin wrote in a Sept. 23 social media post on X.

“Casa Grande Station agents arrested a smuggled Mexican National who had previously been convicted of sexual crimes against children. In 2018, Gilberto Garica-Bejarano was convicted of Arranging to Meet with a Minor, a felony. He faces prosecution for illegal re-entry” Modlin wrote in a Sept. 30 social media post on X.

Modlin joined the US Border Patrol in 1995 and has since worked in a variety of positions in the San Diego Sector, Detroit Sector, Miami Sector, and several posts on either coast.

See details of arrests in the Tucson sector in August 2024

Date of Arrest/Report of Arrest	Name	Citizenship	Crimes/previous convictions
9/01/24	Efrain Rivas-Garcia	Mexico	Has felony convictions including dangerous drug possession and illegal re-entry. He faces federal prosecution.
09/03/24	N/A	N/A	Tucson Sector Border Patrol and CBP AMO worked with local police and deputies to intercept a smuggling attempt near Benson, AZ.  Working together they were able to apprehend 7 subjects and seize a pickup truck that had fled from agents earlier in the day.
09/04/24	N/A	N/A	Near Bisbee, AZ, agents attempted to stop a vehicle suspected of picking up smuggled migrants, but the driver fled. After reaching a dead end, several subjects fled into the desert.  Agents later arrested the SUV’s occupants, all illegally present in the U.S.
09/06/24	N/A	USA	Three U.S. citizens have been arrested and two of their vehicles have been seized.  The vehicles were involved in attempting to #Smuggle migrants. When stopped, two migrants ran from one of the vehicles but were promptly apprehended. One migrant was left in the hot trunk.
09/06/24	N/A	Mexico	A Mexican migrant illegally present in the U.S. was arrested by Willcox Station agents following a traffic stop. Six other smuggled migrants were observed laying down in the rear of the vehicle. All seven subjects face removal proceedings.
09/09/24	N/A	USA	Agents from the Tucson Station and Mobile Response Team (MRT) worked with CBP AMO to apprehend a group of 9 smuggled migrants evading detection in a remote area south of Arivaca.
09/11/24	N/A	Venezuela and Mexico	A Venezuelan asylum seeker, with a pending immigration hearing date, was arrested when Willcox Station agents discovered he was smuggling two Mexican citizens near Benson, AZ.  He faces charges for human smuggling and the migrants face removal proceedings.
09/12/24	N/A	N/A	USBP agents seized mixed narcotics at the I-19 Checkpoint. The concealed bundles of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and heroin were discovered inside a vehicle following a K9 alert during secndary inspection.
09/12/24	N/A	N/A	Suspected migrants were observed exiting the brush and entering a vehicle near the border in Newfield, AZ. Three Points Station agents responded to the area and conducted a stop. Agents determined the US citizen driver was attempting to transport six smuggled migrants.
09/12/24	N/A	N/A	A USBP agent used his patrol vehicle to stop a driverless SUV. The driver of the SUV had exited the vehicle while it was still in motion after fleeing from agents and CCSO deputies. 5 smuggled migrants were also apprehended in relation to the pursuit.
09/16/24	N/A	N/A	A US BP K9 alert led agents to uncover over 20 lbs. of methamphetamine and cocaine concealed within a vehicle at the I-19 Immigration Checkpoint.
09/16/24	N/A	N/A	USBP agents arrested 4 migrants while assisting Tombstone Marshal’s with a traffic stop. The US citizen driver was arrested and attempted to use a fake immigration document as an ID.  The Marshal’s arrested 1 other passenger, a US citizen, for state smuggling charges.
09/18/24	N/A	N/A	An SUV fled from Brian A. Terry Station agents after it was spotted in a known smuggling area near the border Thursday. With assistance from the Field Training Unit and CBP AMO, agents apprehended the driver and a smuggled migrant that attempted to abscond from the vehicle.
09/19/24	N/A	N/A	USBP agents tracking migrants near Nogales, AZ, encountered a rifle and backpack filled with bricks of cocaine. After 4 days of tracking, agents found several backpacks containing bricks of cocaine near Sahuarita, AZ. Nearly 100 lbs. of cocaine were seized.
09/19/24	N/A	Mexico	Three Points Station agents responded to a group of camouflaged subjects detected by border technology in the Baboquivari Mountains. Agents worked together to track and apprehend 10 smuggled Mexican Nationals. All were returned to Mexico via Expedited Removal.
09/20/24	N/A	Guatemala and Mexico	Tucson Sector agents successfully thwarted a vehicle incursion Sunday. Several occupants fled the pickup truck as responding agents initiated a stop north of Sasabe. A total of 18 smuggled Guatemalan and Mexican citizens were arrested, including the driver.
09/23/24	N/A	N/A	Tucson Sector agents conducted a vehicle stop leading to multiple subjects fleeing into the desert. Five smuggled migrants were apprehended shortly after, along with the smugglers responsible for transporting them.
09/23/24	Jose Garcia Samaniego	Mexico	Individual faces felony charges for illegal re-entry following his arrest by Nogales Station agents on September 9. The Mexican citizen has misdemeanor convictions in Nebraska and was previously convicted for felony illegal re-entry after deportation.
09/24/24	N/A	N/A	Approximately 40,000 rounds of 7.62mm ammunition was intercepted, preventing it from being smuggled into the hands of criminal organizations in Mexico.
09/24/24	Gilberto Garica-Bejarano	Mexico	Casa Grande Station agents arrested a smuggled Mexican National who had previously been convicted of sexual crimes against children. Convicted in 2018 of Arranging to Meet with a Minor, a felony. He faces prosecution for illegal re-entry.
09/26/24	N/A	N/A	Willcox Station agents arrested a US citizen smuggling 10 migrants. Agents conducted a vehicle stop on SR-90 and found 6 migrants underneath a tarp in the truck bed and an additional 4 inside the cab. The driver faces federal charges and migrants face removal proceedings.