Atlanta , Georgia ( CNN ) -- Six unidentified men were found in a cargo truck at Atlanta 's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport during a random security sweep , officials said . Transportation Security Administration spokesman Jon Allen said the Transportation Security Administration , along with more than a dozen federal and state agencies , were conducting counter-terrorism exercises Tuesday when agents discovered the men . The men were handed over to two federal agencies -- Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement , Allen said . The men were illegal immigrants , said ICE spokeswoman Barbara Gonzalez . `` None of those encountered were in secure areas of the airport , nor did they have access to those areas , '' she said . Gonzalez previously said all the men had been processed for removal from the United States , but she later clarified the statement . `` They have not been processed for removal at this time . We are still looking into the matter and there is an ongoing investigation , '' she said . Gonzalez said five of the men were from Mexico and one man was from El Salvador . `` Additionally , our investigation has revealed that none of these individuals had any ill intent '' against the United States , Gonzalez said . The security operation took place outside a cargo facility that has no connection to any airport terminals , and the sweep was part of a routine exercise carried out randomly at various transportation hubs , Allen said . `` We conduct thousands of these across the country on a regular basis . This particular operation was targeted to facilities carrying cargo , '' he said . Agents were using a three-tiered method , including an X-ray machine , radiological detection equipment and bomb-sniffing canine teams , he said . `` Finding individuals in the back of the truck was not expected . ''
NEW : The investigation is ongoing , ICE spokeswoman says . Comment: : The men have not yet been processed for removal from the U.S. , ICE says . NEW : Five of the unidentified men are from Mexico and one from El Salvador . The men were found during a security exercise outside a cargo facility .