U.S. Customs and Border Protection has denied entry to four Korean nationals who arrived on island as “tourists” but are believed to be construction workers, a federal government source told Variety.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection patch is seen on the arm of a U.S. Border Patrol agent in Mission, Texas on July 1, 2019.
REUTERS
The four arrived on a Jeju Airlines charter flight on Jan. 15 that was supposed to be for returning residents, workers or students, Variety learned.
The four “tourists” were not allowed to leave the Saipan airport, and were instructed to board the same Jeju aircraft, which departed the island on the same day, the source said.
CBP believed that the four were attempting to circumvent immigration requirements by posing as tourists, Variety was told.
The “tourists” brought with them the construction blueprint and the design of a hotel kitchen that they apparently planned to renovate, the source added.
No other details were disclosed “to protect the integrity of an ongoing federal investigation.”
It is believed that a contractor of a hotel undergoing renovation brought in the “tourists.”
