‘Armed bandits’ rob migrants crossing California border illegally

The dangerous risks migrants face traveling to the United States do not necessarily end when they reach the southern border, since they can also be robbed at gunpoint there. 

That’s what happened to several groups of migrants who were attempting to cross the border illegally on Sunday, according to U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) Chief Jason Owens.

Owens took to X on Monday to write that “armed bandits” robbed several groups of migrants near Chula Vista, in California. Chula Vista is located south of San Diego near the western side of the southern border, opposite Tijuana, Mexico.

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Owens posted security images from the scene, with one image appearing to show a man pointing a gun at a group of migrants. In the second image, a man appears to be holding a gun by his side as a family in the distance walks toward him.

“USBP (U.S. Border Patrol) surveillance technology near Chula Vista, CA captured these images of armed bandits robbing several groups as they attempted to enter the country illegally,” Owens wrote.

“Yet another example of the dangers these criminals [and] smugglers pose to the public, the migrants, and our agents.”

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It is unclear if the robberies took place on U.S. soil or in Mexico. It is also unknown what exactly the bandits stole or if any of the migrants were injured. Fox News Digital reached out to Border Patrol for additional information but did not immediately receive a response.

Owens regularly posts updates on Border Patrol apprehensions at the border. 

Last week, he revealed that border agents have caught nearly 180 illegal immigrants with gang affiliations so far this year. The gangs, including Paisas and MS-13, are involved with murder, extortion, narcotics, weapons/human trafficking and prostitution, Owens wrote on X.

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Owens also wrote that in fiscal year 2024, Border Patrol has apprehended more than 6,400 subjects with criminal convictions.

It comes as more than 21,000 Chinese citizens have already been apprehended in the Border Patrol’s San Diego Sector alone during the 2024 fiscal year, sparking national security concerns.

Nearly 7.3 million migrants have illegally crossed the southwest border under President Biden’s watch, a number greater than the population of 36 individual states, a Fox News analysis found.