Overview
- U.S. Border Patrol agents found and arrested 19 Mexican nationals hiding in a binational storm‑drain near San Diego after remote video surveillance detected activity on May 4.
- The group included 16 adults and three unaccompanied minors who were moved to the Chula Vista station for processing and face deportation or federal prosecution.
- Among those detained were brothers Raudel and Iván Carrillo‑Padilla, previously deported and convicted in 2017 for methamphetamine offenses, a detail officials cited to underscore security concerns.
- Border Patrol credited its remote video system and the San Diego Tunnel Team for clearing the drains and preventing further ingress, and officials said no deaths occurred in this incident.
- Reporting ties the case to a roughly 15‑year pattern of using the Tijuana–San Diego drainage system because it costs about $1,000 versus roughly $5,000 for over‑the‑wall smuggling and because repeated deportations drive people toward cheaper, riskier routes.