Mexico’s immigration agency announced late Friday night that it found 491 migrants stashed in a compound on the side of the highway east of Mexico.
Of the migrants, 277 of them were children or adolescents — most of whom were traveling with relatives.
However 52 of the minors were unaccompanied, the agency said.
All but six were from Guatemala — the others were from Honduras.
The migrants were being held in a walled compound outside of the city of Puebla along a popular smuggling route.
“They were transferred to headquarters of the National Institute of Migration to provide them with water, food and medical attention,” the organization told CBS News in a statement.
Smugglers in Mexico frequently hide migrants at such compounds until they can board buses or trucks to the US border.
A federal appeals court ruled Thursday to temporarily keep in place Biden administration rules that restrict the flow of asylum-seekers at the southern border to halt the surge of migrants making the dangerous crossing.
Under the policy, migrants looking to enter the US legally must either use the CBP One App to make an appointment or apply for protection in countries they travel through before seeking refuge in the states.
The rule was set to expire by Monday following a decision by a lower court that found it to be illegal.
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