Two DACA Recipients Arrested on Suspicion of Human Smuggling

A man who was in the United States under the Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals program, and another man whose DACA protections had expired, were arrested on suspicion of human smuggling in two separate incidents last week, federal officials said Monday.

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The first instance happened on Wednesday near Torrey Pines State Beach.

Border agents were sent to the area after a resident spotted what appeared to be a smuggling incident, federal officials said. Further investigation led agents to a vehicle suspected of being involved, {snip}.

Three men were inside: the driver, a 20-year-old DACA recipient whose status had expired, and two Mexican nationals, ages 21 and 22, suspected of being in the country illegally.

Federal officials said the driver and his cousin, the 22-year-old passenger, told agents they had been involved in human smuggling in the area. The driver is currently in federal custody.

The second incident happened on Thursday about 8 a.m. Border Patrol agents in East County had just arrested two people on suspicion of being in the country illegally when they spotted two suspicious vehicles on Buckman Springs Road in Campo.

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The driver — a 22-year-old Mexican national who lived in Riverside County as a DACA recipient — ultimately told agents that he and another driver were scouting the area to aid a group of smugglers, federal officials said.

The agents also learned the man had committed other acts of human smuggling, according to federal officials. {snip}