18 east African illegal immigrants caught in Hidalgo

HIDALGO - U.S. Border Patrol agents Sunday detained 18 people from the horn of Africa - an uncommon but not unheard of origin for illegal migrants to the United States, officials said.

The east African immigrants - 13 from Eritrea and five from Ethiopia - were walking along a road in Hidalgo on Sunday when they were spotted, said local Border Patrol spokesman Daniel Doty.

Agents peacefully took the illegal immigrants into custody, Doty said. None of them was carrying drugs or firearms.

Doty said illegal immigrants who come from countries other than Mexico either face an expedited deportation hearing or can request political asylum in the United States. Illegal immigrants are typically deported from the country within 14 days, he said.

It is less common for a group of illegal immigrants to come to the United States from nations other than Mexico and Central America.

While the two nations from which the immigrants are reported to hail share a border, their political climates are distinct.

Ethiopia is the oldest independent country in Africa and takes up about twice the land area of Texas.

Eritrea is a developing nation with a landmass slightly larger than Pennsylvania that sits on the northeast coast of Africa. It gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 and has only one political party recognized by its government. But it is home to several other Islamic political factions, according to the CIA World Factbook.

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.