Four Irish people among 12 arrested in Minnesota for illegally entering US

US Border Patrol agents assigned to the Grand Forks sector intercepted the “human smuggling attempt” after two vehicles crossed the border near Roseau last month.

An agent with the Border Patrol station in Warroad who had been alerted that both vehicles had illegally entered the US on September 25, drove south on Highway 89 toward Grygla where he spotted one of them at a gas station.

As the agent approached, one of the vehicles sped off but the agent “made contact with the other driver”, which led to the arrest of four of the occupants — one a citizen of Great Britain, and three others from Ireland.

All four passengers were taken into custody for unlawful entry into the United States.

An alert was issued for the second vehicle which fled the gas station, and the following day a border patrol agent assigned to the International Falls, Minnesota, sector spotted it parked at a restaurant in Bemidji.

Seeing that the car was empty, the agent went to a nearby hotel and spoke with an employee at the front desk who said a couple had recently checked in, but left shortly before the agent arrived.

With the help of the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, the agent later located the couple and eight migrants in the second vehicle — seven citizens of Great Britain, and one from Ireland, who were all detained for unlawful entry into the US.

"This was a great response by our agents,” Chief Patrol Agent Anthony S Good said in a statement.

“The communication and collaboration between two of our stations was the reason we were able to catch the migrants. As a reminder, it is unlawful to enter the United States anywhere other than a designated Port of Entry.”

Earlier this year, a Florida man was charged with human smuggling in Minnesota after the bodies of four people were found in Canada near the US border.

Authorities said the four had frozen to death during a blizzard in a failed crossing attempt.