Border authorities in Arizona are seeing an increase in migrants from the West African country of Guinea carrying fake passports claiming they are minors.
The new immigrants are changing their age to pretend to be unaccompanied minors for a better chance of entering the US, Fox News Digital said, citing an internal memo from the US Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector Intelligence Unit.
“Officials from the government of Guinea may advise people who are getting their new passports to change their age so that they get a better chance of entering the United States as a minor,” the alert warned, along with an example of a valid Guinean passport and doctored.
“It is suspected that Guinean passports issued in Conakry after June 2023 are highly likely to be fraudulent or altered,” the memo added.
One migrant also claimed that an “illegal group” stole several blank passport books from the ministry in Conakry and “has sold and issued passports without proper procedures,” the Border Patrol explained.
The warning was issued as hundreds of Guinean men have crossed into the US through the Tuscon sector, Fox News claims.
An internal memo flagged a warning to border patrol agents about possible fake passports. Fox New / US Border Patrol A record number of migrants crossed the southern border in December. AFP via Getty Images
Nearly 170 Guineans crossed the area on Saturday alone, the outlet said, citing Border Patrol sources.
Former Department of Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf told “Fox & Friends” that the allegations of fake passports are “very troubling” — especially in light of the record number of immigrants crossing the southern border in December.
“Any time you have that much volume…it overwhelms the border patrol, so the smugglers and the cartels, they know this,” Wolf explained.
Hundreds of immigrants were waiting to be processed last week. AFP via Getty Images
“They train individuals how to cross the border, how to change passports if they need to, so they can be released into the country,” he added.
“The system is broken,” he complained.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
