U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol and Marine Interdiction Agents apprehended 11 non-citizens from Romania, Brazil and the Dominican Republic traveling on a private vessel from St. Thomas, Virgin Islands to Culebra, Puerto Rico, Sunday, the agency announced.
“Smuggling organizations exploit diverse routes and methods to introduce people or contraband throughout Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands,” indicated Reggie Johnson, acting chief patrol agent for the Ramey Border Patrol Sector. “We have the collective resolve to address illicit flows and protect our communities by collaborating with local and federal partners.”
On Sunday, Oct. 13, a crew of Marine Interdiction and Border Patrol agents on patrol found a vessel that was having mechanical trouble and was requesting assistance near Botany Bay, USVI. Inside the vessel, the agents found a group of 11 non-citizens who did not have documents to prove an authorized presence in the United States, according to the press release.
The agents transported the group consisting of two adult women and two adult men from Romania, two adult men from Brazil, and five adult men from the Dominican Republic to the USBP/ERO co-location facility at Crown Mountain for processing and removal, the press release stated.
U.S. Border Patrol analyzes and responds to any changes in migration patterns, particularly irregular migration outside of legal pathways and border crossings and works with our federal and international partners to combat human smuggling, the release stated.
The Ramey Sector is one of the twenty-one sectors spread out across the United States. Encompassing the U.S. territorial islands of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, it is the only Border Patrol Sector located outside the continental United States. The sector’s entire border area is made up of coastline, and its area of responsibility is made up of some 6,000 square miles of land and water, including the twelve-mile band of territorial water surrounding the Islands, it said.
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