C.B.P. News Release

CBP Arrests 10 Haitians After Landing in Aguadilla

(Wednesday, March 21, 2012)

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agents arrested yesterday afternoon 10 Haitian undocumented aliens after an illegal maritime incursion on a makeshift vessel on the northwestern coast of the island.

Ramey Border Patrol Sector communications received a call from a concerned citizen stating that an incursion had taken place in the area of Playuelas, Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

The citizen stated that there were two subjects that appeared to be undocumented aliens in her abode.

Border Patrol Agents responded to the area in question and confirmed that the incursion had occurred.

After a thorough search operation, Border Patrol Agents arrested ten undocumented aliens claiming to be Haitian Nationals (7 males and 3 females) near the incursion site.

At the incursion site a grey colored wooden vessel was found without the motors. Foreign food products were found inside the vessel.

The subjects were transported to the Ramey Border Patrol Station for further processing.

According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC), while smuggling by sea accounts only for a small portion of overall migrant smuggling around the world, the particular dangers of irregular travel at sea make it a priority for response; due to the reported fact that more deaths occur by sea.

People who venture to enter into a U.S. territory not only risk becoming victim of criminal organizations but can also be exposed to the inconvenience of a formal administrative processing and arrest by CBP agents or officers of CBP.

U.S. immigration law makes it a crime to enter or attempt to enter without requesting admission at a port of entry by immigration officers.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

Department of Homeland Security

CBP Arrests 10 Haitians After Landing in Aguadilla - CBP.gov