The U.S. Border Patrol says agents assigned to the Rangeley station have arrested 17 men over three days in Maine.
Officials say 12 men, all citizens of Mexico, were arrested on Saturday in Auburn, Maine, for overstaying their visas allowing them to work in agriculture jobs.
A day later, three men from Ecuador and Honduras were detained in Stratton, Maine. They were relocating to Maine and had entered the U.S. illegally at the border with Mexico.
Officials said the third incident, on Veterans Day, resulted in arrests of two men from Honduras and El Salvador in Turner. They had entered the U.S. illegally at the border with Mexico.
Jason Owens, the Border Patrol chief agent in Maine, said he expects more such arrests "as our situational awareness improves."