Vessels carrying dozens of illegal aliens have been interdicted in waters near California and Florida in recent days.
A notable West Coast bust unfolded at around 1 p.m. on Saturday near San Clemente Island.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) crews in the skies and on the water coordinated to track down a panga-style boat at sea.
Agents encountered a total of 23 illegal aliens onboard — 18 males and five females, a photograph of the group indicates.
All 23 were turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement San Diego for processing and removal.
23 illegals busted in panga-style vessel off California coast over weekend
18 males, five females turned over to @EROSanDiego pic.twitter.com/6YUvduIOlG
— Border Hawk (@BorderHawkNews) March 18, 2026
CBP AMO just revealed that another significant interception took place on the East Coast days earlier.
Just before midnight on Mar. 11, a westbound boat was detected roughly 21 miles from Miami-Dade County.
“When Marine Interdiction Agents approached, the vessel fled. Despite law enforcement activating lights and sirens, the vessel continued to evade authorities,” CBP AMO explained in a statement.
“After the vessel failed to stop, agents first discharged warning rounds. When that did not work, disabling rounds were discharged into the engine, ultimately bringing the vessel to a halt.”
Onboard, agents encountered 15 illegal aliens from Haiti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and the Bahamas.
🚨DISABLING FIRE STOPS SMUGGLING ATTEMPT!
On March 11, at 11:45 p.m. EST, a Miami Marine Unit crew successfully interdicted a suspected smuggling vessel and apprehended 15 illegal aliens in a failed nighttime smuggling attempt off the coast of Miami.
The suspect vessel, was… pic.twitter.com/HpAGmdU3Ji
— CBP AMO (@CBPAMO) March 19, 2026
After processing, the U.S. Coast Guard returned 11 of the illegals to the Bahamas, while the remaining four were arrested by the Department of Homeland Security and charged with human smuggling crimes.
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