50 Illegals Seized at LAX in Third INS Sweep in 2 Days

Fifty illegal aliens were detained at Los Angeles International Airport as they waited to board flights to other parts of the country in the third big immigration sweep at airports in two days, authorities said today.

Agents from the Immigration and Naturalization Service detained the illegal aliens late Thursday, said Ben Davidian, INS western regional commissioner.

Earlier Thursday, immigration agents in Atlanta detained 53 illegal immigrants aboard an Eastern Airlines flight. It was the second consecutive day aliens were captured while trying to make their way to New York from the West Coast.

Thursday night, agents swept through terminals at Los Angeles International Airport and rounded up 50 suspected illegal aliens by midnight, Davidian said.

Immigration authorities decided on the Los Angeles sweep after the arrests in Atlanta, where suspected illegal aliens were pulled from flights that originated in Los Angeles, Davidian said.

The commissioner said the sweeps, called Operation Red Eye Repeat, were part of a continuing operation in response to an increase in smuggling of illegal aliens. All major airports have been targeted, including Los Angeles, he said.

“Los Angeles is a real hub,” Davidian said. “This is the main area where undocumented aliens want to come because there is so much employment.”

The commissioner said the Los Angeles operation was a “drop in the bucket” compared to the 1,500 to 2,000 illegal workers that are picked up in the San Diego area every day.

The 50 suspects detained Thursday night included people from Panama, Pakistan, India, Mexico and El Salvador.

The illegal aliens picked up in Atlanta were the cargo in a massive smuggling ring that has been under investigation since last year, the INS said. Most of the aliens were going to New York seeking employment, officials said.