In this U.S. Customs and Border Protection video screenshot, some of the 360 migrants are seen crossing vehicle barriers at the international border, April 16, 2019, in Lukeville, Ariz.

Border Patrol agents encountered 360 migrants Tuesday morning west of Lukeville, southwest of Tucson.Β 

Multiple buses arrived south of the U.S.-Mexico border about 14 miles west of Lukeville. Border Patrol camera operators watched migrants exit the buses, walk under the vehicle barrier at the border, and illegally enter the United States, the Border Patrol's Tucson Sector said in a news release.Β 

A Mexican highway runs along the south side of that stretch of the border.Β 

As was the case with other recent groups, most of the migrants were traveling as families from Central American countries, the agency said.Β 

The crossing occurred in the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and park service employees helped agents at the site of the crossing. Agents from elsewhere in the Tucson Sector were diverted to help provide "humanitarian, transportation, and processing assistance for the large group," according to the Tucson Sector news release.Β 

Speaking in front of a screen airing surveillance footage from this morning, Roy Villareal, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent for the Tucson Sector, speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Border Patrol Tucson Sector headquarters, 2430 S. Swan Road, April 16, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. A group of 360 migrants, mostly families, surrendered to agents near Lukeville on Tuesday morning.


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Contact Curt at 573-4224 or cprendergast@tucson.com