The border continues to be an issue, and while most of the attention has been on the southwest border in Texas Customs and Border Protection agents in Maine were also busy recently with two separate incidents. On January 19, 2023, Customs and Border Protection agents from the Van Buren station were alerted that several people were trying to enter the United States near Caswell, Maine. Caswell is to the east of Grand Falls, New Brunswick, Canada. Border Patrol agents investigated the area and were able to follow footprints left in the snow, which led them to a group of seven males from Mexico. Due to the cold, one of the men had signs of frostbite and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
Two of the men had previously been removed from the United States, and they were in violation of Title 8 U.S. Code Section 1326. The other five men were first-time offenders, and they were charged with Title 8 U.S. Code Section 1325. All seven were processed for removal and fined $5,000 each.
What are Title 8 U.S. Code Section 1325 and Title 8 U.S. Code Section 1326?
U.S. Code §1325. Improper entry by alien
(a) Improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; misrepresentation and concealment of facts. Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
U.S. Code §1326. Reentry of removed aliens
(a) In general subject to subsection (b), any alien who- (1) has been denied admission, excluded, deported, or removed or has departed the United States while an order of exclusion, deportation, or removal is outstanding, and thereafter (2) enters, attempts to enter, or is at any time found in, the United States, unless (A) prior to his reembarkation at a place outside the United States or his application for admission from a foreign contiguous territory, the Attorney General has expressly consented to such alien's reapplying for admission; or (B) with respect to an alien previously denied admission and removed, unless such alien shall establish that he was not required to obtain such advance consent under this chapter or any prior Act.
Then, on January 20, 2023, border patrol agents from the Calais station pulled over a suspicious vehicle near Lambert Lake and found six adult Vietnamese passengers and a U.S. citizen who was driving the vehicle. The Vietnamese passengers were charged with violations of Title 8 U.S. Code Section 1325 and fined $5,000 each. They were first-time offenders and were processed for removal. The driver was detained under suspicion of human smuggling.
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