Moment Panga boat filled with migrants washes up on San Diego beach, with federal agents intercepting 10 of them while others fled scene
This is the moment a panga boat filled with migrants washed up on a San Diego beach as Customs and Border Protection agents arrested 10 passengers.
The fishing boat made its way to the shore of Solana Beach, a costal city in San Diego, around 6.50am Wednesday.
It was detected by the U.S. Customs Border and Protection’s San Diego Air and Marine Branch, Michael Scappechio with CBP told KUSI.
It is unclear where exactly the migrants were traveling from and how many of them were on the boat as CBP is still searching for passengers who managed to escape.
DailyMail.com contacted the agency for more information but did not hear back in time for this report.
A panga boat filled with migrants washed up on a San Diego beach as Customs and Border Protection agents arrested 10 passengers on Wednesday morning
It is unclear where exactly the migrants were traveling from and how many of them were on the boat as CBP is still searching for passengers who managed to escape
Along with the boat, a nearby vehicle that was suspected of being involved in the reported smuggling operation were seized, CBP said.
In the video, people onboard the vessel are seen frantically running off of as it reached the sandy shore.
As this happens, beachgoers are seen staring in awe as the boat, now empty, remains in the water.
At the end, another boat is seen in the distance but it is unclear if it was involved or not.
In February, another shocking video emerged of border patrol agents releasing hundreds of migrants out at a San Diego bus stop just a week after the city had to close a shelter intended for them due to lack of funding.
Non-profit SBCS shut the recently-opened migrant facility for good- reflecting the bleak picture across the country as the numbers of asylum seekers coming to the US remain sky-high.
During the release, over 350 migrants were left to their own devices on the street after CBP let them free at a transit center, though aid groups tried to help them as best they could.
The groups attempted to put together makeshift facilities and tried to take them to a parking lot so they could charge their phones and hail rides to the airport.
Another boat is seen off in the distance but it is unclear is that vessel was involved in the suspected smuggling operation
In February, another shocking video emerged of border patrol agents releasing hundreds of migrants out at a San Diego bus stop
The migrants were also left with nowhere stand and no public bathrooms in a completely full parking lot
They were also left with nowhere to stand and no public bathrooms in a completely full parking lot.
A taxi driver attempted to take advantage of the situation by guaranteeing rides to the airport for $100, double what Uber and Lyft were charging.
Many of the migrants – who came from from South America, Africa and China were still grateful to be there, with plans to either meet up with family or head to immigration court trials in other cities.
‘I’ve dreamed about this (moment) a lot, and thank God I’m here,’ said Abd Boudeah, 23, from Mauritania.
He told NBC San Diego he fled his home out of persecution for homosexuality and was going to make it to Chicago to live with a cousin who has lived in America for two decades.
In a recent interview with CBS News, Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens said that the crisis at the southern border is a ‘national security threat’ that ‘keeps him awake at night.’
Owens said that he was mostly concerned about the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who haven’t been apprehended and processed at the border while on their way into the U.S.
Illegal migrants break through razor wire as they forcefully enter the United States via the southern border on March 21, 2024
President Joe Biden, center, surveys the southern border. He is guided here by USBP Chief Jason Owens (center left) on February 29, 2024
‘What’s keeping me up at night is the 140,000 got aways,’ Owens said – the number of migrants who have snuck into the country undetected since October.
‘Why are they hiding? What do they have to hide? What are they bringing in? What is their intent? Where are they coming from?’ Owens explained are the primary concerns of the USBP about the ones that have gotten away, whose backgrounds and locations are virtually unknown to the government.
‘We simply don’t know the answers to those questions. Those things for us are what represent the threat to our communities,’ he said.
Owens said his department is on track to record some two million apprehensions by the time the fiscal year ends in September.
The chief said: ‘border security is a big piece of national security,’ and the illegal migrants being smuggled into the country are ‘exploiting a vulnerability’ facing the nation at present.
Owens said that the migrants who’ve made their way into the US this year have come from at least 160 different countries, some of which are many continents away.
