60 Migrants Detained In SoCal Smuggling

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said its Air and Marine Operations crews and partner agencies stopped three smuggling boats off Southern California in recent days and apprehended 60 people. (cbp.gov) The agency said the first stop came April 21, when the Coast Guard cutter *Terrell Horne* intercepted a cuddy-cabin vessel about 30 miles south of San Clemente Island with 18 Mexican nationals aboard. (cbp.gov) (news.uscg.mil) A second vessel was intercepted April 22 near Ocean Beach after Air and Marine Operations spotted it moving north in U.S. waters, according to Customs and Border Protection. A third was stopped April 23 near Dana Point. (cbp.gov) Customs and Border Protection did not identify the nationalities of everyone on the three boats in its national release, but it said all 60 people were turned over for processing after the interdictions. (cbp.gov) The stops extend a run of maritime smuggling cases off the Southern California coast this year. In February, the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security partner agencies said they interdicted five suspected smuggling vessels south of San Clemente Island and apprehended 62 people in under 90 minutes. (news.uscg.mil) Customs and Border Protection also said in February that coordinated operations with the Coast Guard and Navy off Southern California led to 82 apprehensions from Mexico, Central and South America, and Africa. (cbp.gov) The San Diego Border Patrol sector is responsible for 931 coastal miles covering California’s coastline, a span the agency has repeatedly described as a human-smuggling corridor by sea as well as by land. (cbp.gov) The latest three-boat case ends with the same pattern as the earlier ones: small vessels, short runs into U.S. waters, and handoffs to Border Patrol after interception at sea. (cbp.gov)