By Staff Reporter |
Immigration enforcement arrested two illegal aliens in Mesa over the weekend for alleged violations of human smuggling.
Sebastian Ibarra-Anaya and Jose Ibarra-Herra, both citizens of Mexico, were arrested in Mesa as part of a sting on a human smuggling conspiracy. Ibarra-Anaya and Ibarra-Herra were two of seven illegal aliens arrested in connection with the conspiracy.
The traffickers were traveling through the Tohono O’odham Nation along the U.S./Mexico border to Mesa when they were detained, according to an announcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) maintains a web page dedicated to displaying the “worst of the worst” of illegal aliens arrested across the nation. These illegal aliens face deportation proceedings for engaging in serious criminal activity such as drug and weapons offenses, violent crimes including rape and murder, fraud, and misuse or theft of public benefits.
As of this report, DHS has included on their “worst of the worst” list nearly 1,570 illegal aliens that were arrested in Arizona. Nationwide, that total is nearly 46,500.
ICE said Ibarra-Anaya and Ibarra-Herra face federal charges and will be processed for removal.
Ibarra-Anaya and Ibarra-Herra are among the countless illegal aliens who have taken advantage of the 62 miles of open border spanning the Tohono O’odham Nation.
In order to close that gap, the Trump administration began border wall construction in August. The tribe filed a lawsuit over the summer to prevent construction, arguing that the land and water are sacred and belong to them, but it has been unsuccessful so far in obtaining court orders to cease the federal government’s progress.
Last month, a federal judge denied the Tohono O’odham Nation’s request for an injunction to stop wall construction along the section of border that exists in their reservation. The tribal nation’s appeal of that denial is pending.
Following Republican’s heavy losses in the general election last week, President Donald Trump has signaled that he plans to scale back on his promises of mass deportations. Trump stated during an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday that he may have been “too tough” on his immigration policy.
The president signaled that he would work with the incoming Democratic majority in Congress on an immigration deal, though he didn’t indicate what deal he had in mind.
“I think I got an A-plus for closing up the border,” said Trump. “I get very high marks for getting the bad ones out, but I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that — that created one violation or breaking of the law: that was that they came into the country illegally.”
Trump’s statements appeared to conflict with his most recent and prominent personnel change. The president selected Stephen Miller as his new chief of staff last week, who has a hardline view on border policy. Following his selection, a Fox News interview with Miller from over the summer recirculated; in it, Miller said that administration policy should disincentivize “birth tourism” by barring pregnant women from entering the country.
As the president signals a pivot on immigration enforcement ahead of January’s power shift in Congress, the legal battles over other aspects of immigration enforcement continue.
On Monday, the Supreme Court permitted the Trump administration to continue border wall construction in Texas amid a separate challenge over the legality of the project with regard to environmental laws.
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