(Havre Herald) Havre Sector U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested a man suspected of being a Honduran national who apparently ran from officers because he was in the U.S. illegally.

“He was processed for his immigration violation and is pending removal proceedings,” said Havre Sector U.S. Border Patrol spokesperson Michael Rappold in an email Tuesday. “The man claimed he ran because he was illegally present in the United States.”

Border Patrol agents encountered the man at about 3:15 p.m. on Monday at the Havre Amtrak station, Rappold said.

“While the man was answering questions regarding his immigration status, he attempted to abscond from agents on foot into downtown Havre. Agents pursued and arrested the man, a 51-year-old Honduran national, after a brief foot chase,” Rappold said.

Multiple residents reported seeing a commotion involving Border Patrol at the U.S. Post Office on Third Street around 3:30 p.m.

“There was a hell of a gang back there,” Brad Lotton of Havre, one of those residents, said today.

Lotton said he happened to be nearby when he saw about four or five Border Patrol agents on the west side of the Post Office grounds. At least one Havre city police vehicle was in the mix too, Lotton added.

The Havre station area covers about 108 miles of the border with Canada, according to the Border Patrol website.  Nearly 200 agents work for the Havre sector, a number that was exponentially increased after 9/11.

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