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A28 u.s. news
Dialuna 19 Juli 2021

US border encounters of migrant families Members of multimillion-

rise despite heat dollar opioid drug ring

sentenced
(AP) — U.S. officials say Joe Biden has largely kept it America, authorities have
the number of migrant in place. been noting growing num-
families they encountered bers of migrants from other (AP) — The final legal
at the border in June in- The new numbers show countries, including Ecuador, chapter of a multimillion-
creased by 25% from the slightly more than a third of Venezuela, Brazil and Cuba. dollar online opioid drug
previous month even as the 188,829 people encoun- ring ended Friday as a
summer temperatures rise tered at the border in June CBP officials in recent weeks group of millennials who
in the deserts and moun- had unsuccessfully tried to have been expressing con- helped run the dark-web
tain terrain of the south- cross at least one other time cerns about the dangers mi- operation based in subur-
western borderlands. in the previous 12 months. grants face crossing through ban Salt Lake City were
remote borderlands without sentenced to prison.
According to new numbers The CBP last month ex- water at the height of sum-
released Friday, U.S. Cus- pelled 104,907 people under mer. Drew Crandall helped start
toms and Border Protec- the pandemic powers. the operation that eventu-
tion tallied 55,805 members “We are in the hottest part of ally grew to shipping tens of
of families with children in The Centers for Disease the summer, and we are see- thousands of fake pills laced
June, compared with 44,746 Control and Protection since ing a high number of distress with the deadly opioid fentanyl to people nationwide in
in May. While a large in- October has offered an ex- calls to CBP from migrants 2016. He cried as he grappled with his role in the op-
crease, the figure is far below ception to that order for abandoned in treacherous eration that prosecutors have linked to multiple overdose
the high of 88,587 in May children traveling alone and terrain by smugglers with no deaths.
2019. announced Friday it would regard for human life,” CBP
allow the exception to stand Acting Commissioner Troy “I just want to say that I’m so sorry for everything I have
Overall, officials say they saw following a review, allowing Miller said in Friday’s report. done,” said Crandall, now 35. “So many people were af-
5% more encounters with those minors to avoid depor- fected by it. I need to pay my debt to society, and I need
migrants trying to cross the tation. The CDC said it de- The bodies of an unusually to take responsibility for my actions.”
border in June compared termined there is sufficient large number of migrants
with May but attributed infrastructure in place to who died in Arizona’s bor- He pleaded guilty to drug distribution and money laun-
much of that increase to re- protect the children, caregiv- derlands are being recovered dering charges and was sentenced to 4 1/2 years in federal
peated attempts by people ers, and local communities in amid record temperatures in prison.
trying to get into the United the U.S. from the virus. the sun-scorched desert and
States. rugged mountains. An in- The punishment for him and other defendants was far
The number of single adults crease in migrant deaths also too light for Tova Keblish of New York, whose son died
Pandemic-related powers encountered at the border has been noted in Texas, and after buying from the dark-web storefront called Phar-
that the government uses to fell in June, but they were rescues are up throughout ma-Master. Her son Gavin was 23 and bought counter-
rapidly expel most migrants the largest group of people the border with Mexico. feit oxycodone after having surgery.
from the country without al- trying to cross. Encounters
lowing them to seek asylum with children traveling alone The nonprofit group Hu- “It makes me sick. It’s unfair,” she said. The defendants
has led to a larger-than-aver- increased by 8% last month, mane Borders, which maps are “young enough they can get out and have a life.”
age number of migrants try- to 15,253, compared with the recoveries of bodies in
ing to cross multiple times, 14,137 in May. June’s figure Arizona using data from the Crandall has testified that the operation started small,
which means the numbers is still well below the high of Pima County Medical Exam- when he needed cash for student loans, so he let his
“somewhat overstate” how 18,663 unaccompanied chil- iner’s Office in Tucson, said roommate Aaron Shamo sell his prescription Adderall.
many are arriving at the dren encountered in March 43 sets of human remains Crandall said he scaled back his role before Shamo began
border, Customs and Bor- by the Border Patrol, which were found in the state’s selling fentanyl.
der Protection said in the began publishing numbers in border region last month —
monthly report. 2009. the hottest June on record Authorities say the 2016 bust at Shamo’s suburban Salt
for Phoenix. Forecasters say Lake City home ranked among the largest in the coun-
Being expelled carries no le- The number of children in highs in Phoenix, where tem- try at the time. More than $1 million was found in his
gal consequences, so many CBP custody fell to 832 on peratures last month regular- dresser, according to court documents.
people try to cross multiple June 30 from 5,767 at its peak ly soared above 110 degrees
times. The Trump admin- on March 29. Fahrenheit (43 Celsius), tend Crandall agreed to a plea deal and testified against Sha-
istration issued the public to be similar to those in Ari- mo, who was convicted of 12 counts and sentenced to
health order in March 2020 Although most border-cross- zona’s Sonoran Desert north life in prison.
to prevent the spread of the ers traditionally have been of Mexico.
coronavirus, and President from Mexico and Central Also sentenced this week were two women who pack-
aged the drugs and at one point put together shipments
so large they vacuumed pills off their floor. They each got
three years in prison, while a “runner” hired to pick up
dozens of packages a day and drop them in the mail was
sentenced to two years. A gym friend of Shamo’s who
helped press pills got five years.
Prosecutor Vernon Stejskal said the sentences handed
down by U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball sent the mes-
sage that anyone involved in a drug ring could face “se-
vere consequences.”

Still, the outcome is tough to accept for mothers like
Shaela Knighton of Salt Lake City, whose son was a gro-
cery store dairy manager helping raise a 2-year-old when
he died after buying Pharma-Master pills.

“He had a good future,” she said. “A family who loved
him.”