Authorities are warning vigilantes at the border not to take the law into their own hands after an armed militia reportedly stopped hundreds of asylum seekers trying to make their way into the U.S. this week.
A group of vigilantes, who call themselves the 'United Constitutional Patriots' made headlines Tuesday after they allegedly held the migrants at gunpoint, after the estimated 300 crossed through a fence gap in Sundland Park, New Mexico.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued the warning through social media Friday, saying interference in law enforcement matters could have public safety and legal consequences.
Video of Tuesday's encounter shows members of United Constitutional Patriots telling the migrants to sit while authorities were called.
Group spokesman Jim Benvie insists members never pointed guns at the migrants and they weren't forced to stay.
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Video of Tuesday's encounter shows members of United Constitutional Patriots telling the migrants to sit while authorities were called. Group spokesman Jim Benvie says members never pointed guns at the migrants and they weren't forced to stay
Graphic shows the number of attempted border crossings since 2016, according to NPR statistics
The emergence of the group comes amid a boom in asylum seekers aiming to make their way into the U.S. through New Mexico, and the El Paso sector.
In 2018, Border Patrol stopped 162,000 people in the Rio Grande Valley.
None of the eight other Border Patrol sectors on the Southern border have experienced anywhere near those
