Irish, British Citizens Tried Sneaking Into U.S. Via MN: Border Patrol

WARROAD, MN — Twelve migrants who are citizens of Ireland and the United Kingdon were caught trying to sneak into the United States through the northern Minnesota border, according to the U.S. Border Patrol.

The arrests were made late last month.

"This was a great response by our agents," Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Good said in a news release. "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."

On Sept. 25, the Border Patrol said an agent at the Warroad station was alerted to two vehicles that illegally entered the United States near Roseau, Minnesota.

The agent traveled south on Minnesota State Highway 89 and located two vehicles at a gas station in Grygla, authorities said.

One of the vehicles left as the agent was pulling in, according to investigators.

The agent questioned the driver of the other car and determined there were four migrants in the vehicle — one from Great Britain and the other three were citizens of Ireland — and all in the U.S. illegally, authorities said.

All four were taken into custody, according to investigators.

A day later, another Border Patrol agent located the second vehicle at a Bemidji restaurant, but the car was unoccupied, authorities said. The agent was eventually able to track down eight migrants in the area, according to investigators.

Seven of the eight were citizens of the U.K. and one was from Ireland, authorities said.