Coast Guard intercepts 29 from Dominican Republic trying to enter U.S. illegally
The U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection and Puerto Rican law enforcement took 29 people from the Dominican Republic into custody Tuesday who were trying to enter the United States illegally, according to a Coast Guard press release.
Two of the men are being investigated for possibly trying to re-enter the country after having been previously deported. One of those men is also being investigated as a “possible smuggler,” according to the release.
A Customs Marine and Air Operations plane crew spotted one boat about 18 miles northeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. The vessel was stopped by the Coast Guard cutter Joseph Tezanos, which took 10 Dominican migrants on board, the press release states.
In a separate incident, a Puerto Rican Joint Forces of Rapid Action boat crew stopped a migrant vessel carrying 19 Dominicans four miles west of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico. The people on board were picked up by the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Winslow Griesser, according to the press release.
The man facing smuggling and re-entering the U.S. charges and the other man facing illegal re-entry charges were taken into custody for questioning. They were on the boat near Puerto Rico. The rest of the 27 people were taken back to the Dominican Republic.
This week’s at-sea interdictions come as migrant activity in the Caribbean has soared, according to Coast Guard officials. Coast Guard and Customs crews are seeing a 200-percent increase in the number of people they are stopping at sea trying to enter the U.S. illegally compared to the same time frame last year.
The increased activity also comes as Coast Guard members, as well as the Customs agents, are not being paid because of the record-long government partial shutdown affecting more than a quarter of the federal workforce.
The Coast Guard is the only branch of the military not getting paid, as it falls under the Department of Homeland Security rather than the Defense Department.
This story was originally published January 23, 2019 at 6:08 PM.