A U.S. Coast Guard cutter intercepted 36 migrants attempting to enter the United States illegally on a 33-foot vessel early Saturday off Point Loma, Coast Guard officials said.
The passengers and boat’s operator were taken to Ballast Point and transferred to Customs and Border Protection, officials said.
“While on patrol, crewmembers aboard the Sea Otter spotted a vessel operating without navigation lights” about 7 miles off Point Loma, the Coast Guard said in a statement. “The Sea Otter’s boarding team, along with members of U.S. Customs and Border Protection boarded the vessel” and discovered 37 people on the boat.
The vessel was boarded around 2:40 a.m. Saturday, a Coast Guard spokesperson said.
Of the 37 taken into custody, 30 were determined to be of Mexican nationality, two were identified as Salvadoran nationality, three of Guatemalan nationality and one was of Colombian nationality. One was a U.S. citizen and was reported to be the operator of the vessel.
No other information was immediately released.
