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Immigration arrest of mother of 3 in National City raises concerns
SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) ‐ A protest was held Friday morning outside City Hall offices in National City a day after a video began circulating on social media showing a mother being snatched off a National City street and hauled away by federal authorities in front of her frantic, crying daughters.Video of Perla Morales-Luna's arrest was posted on Facebook and has gone viral. The government says she is in the country illegally and accuses her of running a smuggling operation in East County. The video, which already has 9 million views, shows Morales-Luna being taken into custody by plainclothes U.S. Border Patrol agents at 24th and D streets in National City. Judith Castro, the teacher of one of Morales-Luna's three young daughters posted the video, which she says was taken by the daughter herself as she witnessed her mother being arrested. "It was very emotional to watch," said Castro. National City Councilmember Alejandra Sotelo-Solis says she did not witness the arrest, but in speaking with those close to the family has learned that Morales-Luna and her daughters had been on their way to pay rent when a man dressed in civilian clothes approached, asked her name and then took her into custody. "When I heard the screams of the daughters, I felt sadness, I felt frustration and then I was infuriated," said Sotelo-Solis. The following is a statement from the United States Border Patrol, San Diego: Perla Morales-Luna was identified as a human smuggling facilitator who recruited drivers to transport illegal aliens from a remote border area in Eastern San Diego County to a stash house in National City as part of a larger transnational criminal organization. Other individuals associated with this criminal organization were arrested shortly after a smuggling event transpired in January of 2018 near Boulevard, California. Ms. Morales-Luna eluded arrest at that time, and despite direct phone conversations between her and U.S. Border Patrol agents, she refused to self-surrender to authorities. Due to her unwillingness to self-surrender and the fact that she was an illegal alien present in the United States she was deemed a flight risk and a targeted enforcement operation was approved for her arrest.Much more at link including much more video. These people are going bananas. Posted by: Abu Uluque 2018-03-10 |
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