Roughly five dozen migrants were apprehended after U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials intercepted several smuggling boats off the coast of California.
In a press release on Friday, it was revealed that officials from the CBP’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) division “interdicted three smuggling vessels” between April 17 and April 21, 2026. Out of the 60 migrants who were apprehended, some of them were reported to “have criminal histories for offenses including failure to yield, driving under the influence, felony hit-and-run, making false police reports,” along with trespassing, burglary, and domestic violence offenses.
“These interdictions show the great lengths dangerous criminals will go to avoid apprehension, including taking to the open ocean in unsafe, overcrowded vessels,” Hunter Robinson, the executive director for the Air and Marine Operations Southwest Region, said in a statement.
On April 17, 13 migrants, which included “seven men, five women and one juvenile female,” were apprehended on a boat “near San Clemente Island,” by officials with AMO’s San Diego Marine Unit.
The following day, officials with AMO’s Long Beach Marine Unit, along with officials from the U.S. Coast Guard’s Cutter Florence Finch, ended up intercepting a boat “near San Nicolas Island.” This resulted in “29 Mexican nationals” being apprehended.
In another instance, on April 21, the Coast Guard’s Cutter Terrel Horne, which was “guided by an AMO aircrew, interdicted a 25-foot cuddy cabin,” resulting in 18 Mexican nationals being apprehended.
