U.S. Border Patrol Agents last week arrested an illegal immigrant in Harrison Township, Mich., as he attempted to enter Selfridge Air National Guard Base.
“On Tuesday, Marysville agents, with law enforcement partners, arrested an illegal alien from Guatemala attempting to enter Selfridge Air National Guard Base,” Chief Patrol Agent John Morris posted to X. “He will be processed for removal from the United States.”
On Tuesday, Marysville agents, with law enforcement partners, arrested an illegal alien from Guatemala attempting to enter Selfridge Air National Guard Base. He will be processed for removal from the United States. #DetroitSector #BorderPatrol #BorderSecurity pic.twitter.com/PRkC8V1VHA
— Chief Patrol Agent John R.Morris (@USBPChiefDTM) August 8, 2025
The Guatemalan was charged with alien inadmissibility and alien present without admission, but the post otherwise included no other details about his arrest.
The incident occurred on the fourth day of a massive military training exercise known as Northern Strike that runs from Aug. 2 through Aug. 16, WDIV reports.
One of the Department of Defense’s largest reserve readiness exercises, Northern Strike includes participants from 36 states and territories, as well as nine international partners, to train in defense scenarios against unmanned aerial systems.
The training involves nearly three dozen aircraft, marine training scenarios, and tracking and engaging targets across Michigan, with training at Selfridge, in Lake Huron, Rogers City Quarry, Battle Creek, Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airfield, and K.I. Sawyer Airfield in Marquette.
“NS is unique, not only because of its integration of defense innovators and academia, but because it fully reflects the realities service members are facing on today’s moder battlefield,” Col. Todd Fitzpatrick, land exercise director, told WDIV.
“This year’s exercise features full-scale integration with foreign participants to build and partner interoperability and is designed to enhance readiness across all domains of warfare with both joint and partner forces,” he said. “Recent global events have shown just how devastating cruise missiles and small UAS can be to both military and civilian infrastructure.”
While it’s unclear why the Guatemalan attempted to enter Selfridge, others foreigners in Michigan have faced charges for attempting to spy on the Northern Strike exercise in the past.
Five University of Michigan graduates from China were charged in October for spying on Camp Grayling National Guard Base during the military training exercise with Taiwanese soldiers in 2023.
Authorities allege the group was found with cameras near military vehicles, tents and classified communications equipment as soldiers conducted Northern Strike. The Chinese nationals charged in that case left the country following graduation in May 2024, but have outstanding arrest warrants in the U.S.
The arrest at Selfridge was one of many last week during the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, initiated as promised by President Donald Trump of the first day of his second term.
USBP agents with the Marysville station arrested nine illegal immigrants from Honduras and Mexico on Thursday, including three with previous deportations.
The same day, agents with the Sandusky Bay Station arrested Madani Diarra, an illegal immigrant from Mali with a violent criminal history that includes convictions for felonious assault and domestic violence, according to Morris.
Last Monday, Detroit Station USBP agents arrested a special interest alien from Venezuela in Macomb County, as well as an illegal immigrant from Mexico with a prior deportation in St. Clair Shores.
Th day before that, agents at the same station acted on a tip from the public to arrest a special interest alien from Cuba.
“SIAs are illegal aliens from countries the U.S. has labeled as a potential threat to national security,” Morris posted to X.
All of the illegal immigrants arrested are being processed for removal amid an accelerating pace of arrests in Michigan and beyond.
According to data shared by the Deportation Data Project, Michigan arrests increased sharply in June as Border Czar Tom Homan pushed to increase targets to at least 7,000 per day, or double the previous quota.
Between Jan. 20 and early June, ICE arrested 940 illegal immigrants in Michigan , nearly matching the 951 people detained in all of 2024, according to MLive.
Under the Joe Biden administration, ICE averaged two to three arrests a day in Michigan. Those figures have been steadily climbing since January, with immigration agents detaining an average of 12 people a day during the first two weeks of June.
That translates into a 154% increase in ICE arrests in Michigan, when comparing last year’s daily average to the daily average since Trump took office, MLive reported.
