RANKIN COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – Twenty-five migrants were arrested during a joint operation between the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Division of U.S. Customs & Border Protection.

The operation was conducted between March 17 and March 21, 2025. According to the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office, the goal of the operation was to disrupt drug and human trafficking in the area.

The Division of U.S. Customs & Border Protection released the following statement:

United States Border Patrol New Orleans announced the successful culmination of Operation Magnolia, a highway interdiction enforcement action in the Pearl, MS area that resulted in the arrest of 25 illegal aliens from Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Twenty-two of the 25 were processed for removal from the United States, while three will be prosecuted under the re-entry after deportation federal statute. (8USC 1326)

During last weeks around the clock operation that spanned March 17-21, Border Patrol agents from the New Orleans Border Patrol Sector conducted highway enforcement operations along I-20, with the valuable assistance of the Rankin and Hinds County Sheriff’s Offices.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Division of U.S. Customs & Border Protection