GRAND MARAIS – Officials from the U.S. Border Patrol claimed for more than 10 days that the reason they pulled over two people from South America on Highway 61 in Cook County was because they ran the license plate of the vehicle they were in and it showed they were not legal citizens.
According to Cook County officials, prior to pulling the vehicle over, Border Patrol agents ran the vehicle’s license plate, and the individual tied to the vehicle was flagged for an overstayed visa.
It turns out that wasn’t the case.
In fact, this newspaper confirmed that the vehicle belongs to a longtime local resident, not to one of the people apprehended.
The Northshore Journal asked representatives from the Border Patrol about this discrepancy last week. On June 17, Steven Bansbach, a public affairs specialist for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), primarily operating out of the Chicago field office, told this newspaper: “The 33- and 31-year old illegal aliens were apprehended by [Border Patrol] agents conducting roving patrol. The agents visually identified the driver and registered owner of the vehicle as a Chilean, who was in violation of their immigration status, and performed a vehicle stop. They questioned the two men and conducted an immigration inspection.”
This reporter responded later that day (June 17), “It’s my understanding that neither of the Chilean brothers were the registered owner of the vehicle that was stopped June 8. It is registered to someone who is a U.S. citizen and a resident of Cook County, Minnesota. That is my understanding of the situation… Did the agents stop the vehicle because it was registered to one of the Chileans, or for another reason? If the latter, what was the reason the agents performed a vehicle stop?”
One day later, and only after being questioned on the matter, Bansbach wrote in response: “I double checked and I made an error, the car was NOT registered to the brothers. At this time, I cannot provide any more information due to law enforcement sensitivities.”
On June 11, a Border Patrol agent who answered the door of the local office for the federal agency told this reporter “an investigation” led to the apprehension of the two individuals involved with the June 8 stop near Cutface Creek and Grand Marais.
Meanwhile, Bansbach told this newspaper last week that, “The Trump administration is enforcing immigration laws. Those who violate these laws will be detained and removed as required. Both individuals were taken into custody and transported to a nearby CBP facility for further processing.”
