Yuma Sector Border Patrol Arrests 143 Migrants During August Multi-Agency Operation

YUMA, Ariz. (Arizona State News) -- U.S. Border Patrol agents in the Yuma Sector arrested 143 people from 18 countries during August as part of a multi-agency law enforcement operation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced Monday.

CBP officials said agents working under Operation Stonegarden detained 95 undocumented truck drivers who held state-issued commercial driver's licenses. Of those, 76 licenses had been issued in California, officials said.

Agents also arrested four human smugglers and 17 undocumented migrants during two separate human-smuggling events, CBP officials said.

In Arizona, Operation Stonegarden provides funding to law enforcement agencies for border security, according to the state Department of Homeland Security. The program allows local agencies to work alongside federal partners to address border-related criminal activity.

In a statement, Yuma Sector Acting Chief Patrol Agent Dustin Caudle said, "We are committed to protecting our citizens from all international threats, whether that is from unlicensed or untrained drivers or transnational criminal organizations engaged in human or drug trafficking."

CBP officials noted that the U.S. Department of Transportation recently issued a final rule intended to prevent unqualified foreign drivers from obtaining licenses to operate commercial trucks and buses.

The Yuma Sector covers a large stretch of the Arizona-Mexico border in the southwest corner of the state. Border Patrol operations in the area are part of a broader federal effort to address both migration and cross-border smuggling.