48 migrants facing deportation after MS Coast arrests, Border Patrol says
An operation between several law enforcement agencies last weekend in Harrison County resulted in the arrest of four dozen migrants who were traveling through South Mississippi and now face deportation, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
The migrants were from Mexico, Nicaragua, Kazakhstan, Honduras, Colombia and Guatemala, said Rusty Payne, a spokesperson for the agency.
Their arrests were part of a broader crackdown authorities said focused on drug trafficking last Friday through Sunday on Interstate 10.
Payne clarified Friday evening that Customs and Border Protection arrested 48 migrants. The Drug Enforcement Administration, which joined the operation, said earlier that federal authorities arrested 50 migrants. Payne said Border Patrol agents arrested 51 people in total, including three U.S. citizens.
Steven Hofer, the special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New Orleans division, said DEA agents also arrested 14 people over the weekend. He said the operation did not target immigrants.
“There was not a particular person or organization that put us there,” he said. “This was an opportunity because of resources that are available to work with our state and local partners.”
More information on the arrested individuals was not immediately available. President Donald Trump has empowered several federal agencies, including the DEA, to help enforce immigration as part of a plan to deport millions of undocumented people.
Payne said in an email Friday evening that New Orleans Sector Border Patrol agents arrested the migrants, who “were processed for removal and will be detained pending their immigration hearings.”
The DEA said the operation also included Homeland Security Investigations, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, and Gulfport and Biloxi’s police departments. It targeted Harrison County, including Gulfport, Biloxi, D’Iberville, Pass Christian and Long Beach. Hofer said the operation involved surveillance, traffic stops and interviews.
During the surge in enforcement, DEA agents said they seized over $100,000 in a case that involved money laundering and drug trafficking. The Harrison County Sheriff’s Office and a DEA task force officer also seized 10 guns found in a car, according to Hofer. Agents said they also found a woman who was apparently bringing controlled substances from Mexico to sell at a Florida flea market.
Hanna Hendry, a deputy and spokesperson for the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office, said more deputies than usual patrolled Interstate 10 during the operation to find drugs and money from narcotics. She said traffic stops increased but deputies were not involved with any immigration enforcement. Biloxi Police also stopped cars on I-10 but made no arrests, said Candace Young, a public information officer.
Collaboration between local and federal law enforcement agencies is common. During an operation, federal law enforcement shares intelligence with local agencies that can help police spot suspicious activity.
Federal authorities also focus on Interstate 10, which is a thoroughfare often used for drug trafficking. Organized operations between local and federal agencies can happen as often as five times a month, according to Hofer.
The arrests were the latest in several months of increased immigration enforcement in South Mississippi. The arrests have included undocumented immigrants picked up at local jails, during patrols and traffic stops, and in “targeted” enforcement actions at restaurants and businesses, at trailer parks, at or near construction sites and at crime scenes. Sixteen immigrants from Mexico and Central America were also arrested in February during a raid at Gulf Coast Prestress Partners, a concrete contracting business in Pass Christian.
This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 11:59 AM.
