Laredo Sector Border Patrol agents continue to lead the nation in the apprehension of Bangladeshi nationals who illegally cross the border from Mexico into Texas. More than 100 were arrested in the past three weeks — totaling 622 this fiscal year.

On September 7, Laredo Sector agents apprehended a group of five illegal immigrants who crossed the Rio Grande River border with Mexico into the Santa Rita subdivision. The agents interviewed the group and learned that they came to the U.S. from Bangladesh, according to Laredo Sector Border Patrol officials.

The Bangladeshis consisted of two juveniles and three adults, officials stated.

The latest arrests bring the total for Fiscal Year 2018 to 622. A few weeks ago, Breitbart Texas reported on the number of arrests at 520 after agents arrested more than 20 Bangladeshi nationals over a short period of days. Since that time, more than 100 Bangladeshis were arrested in the Laredo Sector alone.

The rate of apprehensions in the Laredo Sector has accelerated over the past few months, officials reported. If the trend continues, there could be more than 700 arrested before the fiscal year ends in September.

The 622 Bangladeshis arrested in the Laredo Sector this fiscal year compares to the previous annual total of 181 (an increase of nearly 244 percent).

Laredo Sector acting Chief Patrol Agent Jason D. Owens previously told Breitbart Texas that the Laredo Sector is targeted because of the lack of a physical border barrier. He said his sector has more than 170 miles of unprotected river border without fencing or walls. He said that the Mexican cartel known as Los Zetas chooses when and where migrants will cross the border and that the Bangladeshis, mostly young men between the ages of 18 and 35, pay up to $27,000 each to be smuggled into the U.S.

“When we talk about the different groups that are crossing into an area, what we’re trying to draw attention to is a more comprehensive look at our threat picture,” Owens explained in a previous Breitbart Texas interview. “We need to stay away from just focusing on the family units and Unaccompanied Alien Children that are coming from Central America and Mexico. What the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol are dealing with on a daily basis is so much more complex than that.”

“They are not trying to hide or escape,” the chief said about the Bangladeshis. “They walk right up to an agent and claim ‘credible fear.’”

Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas. He is a founding member of the Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX, GAB, and Facebook.