Border Patrol caught two U.S. Marines allegedly smuggling three migrants through California, several miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.
Border Patrol apprehended the Marines on July 3, along with three individuals who were determined to be Mexican citizens in the U.S. illegally, reported The Washington Post.
Lance Cpls. David Javier Salazar-Quintero and Bryon Darnell Law II have been arraigned in federal court for allegedly transporting illegal migrants for “financial gain,” according to WaPo.
JUST IN: Marines arrested for allegedly helping smuggle undocumented immigrants across border for cash https://t.co/yj5ckOcFH8 pic.twitter.com/4xo7VdCpEh
— The Hill (@thehill) July 9, 2019
Law and Salazar-Quintero are active-duty riflemen with the 1st Marine Division based in Camp Pendleton, according to their service records. (RELATED: DHS Wants An Additional 1,000 National Guard Troops On The Border)
“We are aware of the charges facing Lance Cpl. Law and Lance Cpl. Salazar-Quintero, and we continue to cooperate fully with the investigative efforts into this matter,” Marine spokesman 1st Lt. Cameron Edinburgh told the Marine Corps Times.
The migrants allegedly planned on paying as much as $8,000 to the Marines for assistance in illegally crossing the border, according to court documents.
Law told investigators “Salazar called and asked him if he was willing to make $1.000.00 USD picking up an illegal alien,” the complaint reads.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Border Patrol, which responded with a copy of the court complaint. The U.S. Marines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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