Above: Nexstar Media Wire video on the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A dozen migrants were found aboard a sail boat off the coast of Point Loma in a suspected smuggling incident on Sunday morning, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The 25-foot sail boat was intercepted after it was spotted by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection aircraft and a Coast Guard helicopter around 10:19 a.m. According to the Coast Guard, it was roughly 12 miles west of Point Loma when it was observed by authorities.
A small boat team from the Coast Guard Cutter Petrel was diverted to the boat, interdicting it around 11:48 a.m.
Per the Coast Guard, 12 migrants who were suspected of attempting to enter the U.S. unlawfully were on board. This includes 11 adult men and one adult woman, all of whom claimed Mexican nationality.
After being seized, the vessel and the migrants were transferred to the Imperial Beach Border Patrol. No further details about the incident were immediately available.
The at-sea encounter was the second to occur over the weekend. The first happened late Saturday night, also near Point Loma.
According to the Coast Guard, two boats were found, but only one was intercepted. The other ship fled south across the maritime boundary line.
Onboard the vessel stymied by the Coast Guard were three people — one man of Mexican nationality, as well as one man and one woman of Vietnamese nationality.
Read: Read More