Authorities say two Mexican nationals have been charged with gross sexual imposition in the case of two 13-year-old Belcourt girls, whose disappearance triggered an Amber Alert.

The girls were found safe in Bismarck on Sunday nearly three days after they disappeared.

Burleigh County prosecutor Brandi Sasse Russell says 21-year-old Julio Alvarez and 30-year-old Carlos Martinez were charged yesterday in South Central District Court in Bismarck.

She says they are being held without bail.

Russell says both men are illegal immigrants. She says they were working on the construction of a new Wal-Mart store in Bismarck.

The 13-year-old girls were last seen at Bismarck's Kirkwood Mall about 6 o'clock Thursday night, talking to the two men.

Police at first believed the men might have lured the girls to the mall through the Internet. But Russell says it now appears the girls met the men at the mall.

Russell says the girls were found in a vehicle in north Bismarck Sunday afternoon.

She says the men had been staying at a local motel.

The Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert for the girls on Saturday, and the F-B-I joined the investigation.

Russell says the charges against the men carry a maximum punishment of life in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Police say one of the girls has been released to her parents, and the other is being held in a juvenile detention center in Mandan, for a reason police would not discuss. Police say both girls face runaway charges.

Commentary:
It appears it's very easy to get into the US under Bush. So, why do we pretend there's a war on terror? If terrorists wanted to enter this country they don't have to get on a plane - they can simply walk across the border. If you're like me and think this war on terror is a joke, don't forget that Bush is allowing illegal immigrants to come into the US without a background check.

At a minimum, any new immigration law (which will favor relaxing the borders even more) should require the government to do a background check to see if the (previously illegal) immigrants have criminal records.

Here's why, Homeland Security/Immigration/Terrorism

In the budget year that ended last month, the Border Patrol apprehended more than 160,000 non-Mexican nationals, but only 30,000 were removed from the United States. The others were released, often on their own recognizance, because there is no place to hold them. Few return for immigration hearings, he said.