Coast Guard Intercepts Boats Off Puerto Rico and California, Arrests 57 Illegal Immigrants

The vessel off Puerto Rico was carrying 40 people mostly from the Dominican Republic; the one off California was carrying 17, mostly Mexicans.

A U.S. Border Patrol agent in San Diego on July 9, 2025. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

U.S. authorities intercepted two vessels harboring illegal immigrants in separate incidents this month, preventing the entry of 57 foreign nationals.

The first interdiction involved the Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations detecting a 25- to 30-foot rustic vessel near Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico, on June 6, the CBP said in a June 15 statement. A U.S. Coast Guard cutter intercepted the vessel, which was moving toward the Puerto Rico shoreline.