More than two dozen illegal immigrants were taken into the custody of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service on Saturday morning after landing on Water Island earlier in the day.
Residents reported to authorities that they were awakened in the pre-dawn hours by unusual sounds coming from an area near Sprat Bay. At sunrise, residents spotted wet clothing, trash and other debris around the area. Police authorities on Saturday afternoon confirmed that 28 illegal immigrants were picked up by INS agents and officers of the Police Department's marine unit.
The country of origin of the group was not known. At 9 a.m. Saturday, about a dozen of the illegal immigrants-possibly from Haiti or the Dominican Republic, eyewitnesses said-were seen arriving at Crown Bay by way of the Water Island ferry. They quickly disembarked and were escorted through the Crown Bay Marina parking lot, presumably to INS headquarters at nearby Nisky Center.
