The installation of a 30-foot wall along a portion of the U.S.-Mexico border in southeastern California may be pushing human smugglers to find new ways to get people from Mexico into the U.S. who do not want apply for asylum.
A Mexican smuggler flew himself and two Chinese men in a tiny ultralight aircraft — an open-air, go-kart-like machine with wings and room for one or two people — over the border wall and 35 miles north into the Southern California desert Tuesday night.
Ultralight aircraft have historically been used by smugglers to move drugs north of the international boundary, but the Tuesday incident indicates transnational criminal organizations may be testing out a new smuggling method.
U.S. Border Patrol agents stationed in California’s southeastern region responded around 2 a.m. local time Tuesday to a report of an ultralight aircraft flying in the vicinity.
Agents arrived in Calipatria, Calif., a desert town 35 miles north of the border, to the coordinates where the aircraft landed.- READ MORE