REGION:
Record number of illegal immigrants arrested at sea in 2010


Smugglers landing on local beaches

By EDWARD SIFUENTES - esifuentes@nctimes.com North County Times - Californian
SAN DIEGO / RIVERSIDE COUNTIES, CALIFORNIA
Posted: Saturday, December 25, 2010 6:26 pm


Early in the morning on Jan. 16, a San Diego police officer on routine patrol at Torrey Pines State Beach heard screams for help coming from the surf.

A small fishing boat had capsized and about a dozen people were swimming to shore, according to court records.

The boat was carrying about 16 illegal immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala.

Two people drowned that morning; two smugglers are facing charges related to those deaths.

Both smugglers, Fernando Figueroa-Rodriguez, 50, and Javier Jimenez-Yucupicio, 45, pleaded guilty earlier this month and are awaiting sentencing.

The incident was one of dozens of smuggling attempts by boat in San Diego County in 2010, a record-setting year with 867 arrests in the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, more than double the previous year's total of 400 arrests, according to federal authorities.

This fiscal year, which started Oct. 1, is on pace to match or surpass last year's numbers, officials said.

As of Dec. 15, more than 200 people have been arrested attempting to enter the country illegally by sea, federal authorities said.

Immigration officials say they believe an increase in border security on land has forced smugglers out to sea.

The amount of drugs intercepted at sea also increased, from nearly 9,000 pounds in 2007 to more than 26,000 pounds so far this year.

"As the land borders become increasingly more difficult, the smugglers resort to other means," said Jerry Conlin, a spokesman with the U.S. Border Patrol in San Diego. "They are still going to smuggle."

To deal with the problem, several agencies, including the Border Patrol, U.S. Coast Guard, Immigration and U.S. Customs Enforcement and several local police agencies, including Oceanside and Carlsbad in North County, developed the San Diego Maritime Unified Command.

The 2-year-old command conducts joint operations and training aimed at detecting and capturing smuggling boats.

Since the 1990s, the federal government has put up fences, lighting and cameras and increased the number of agents along the U.S. border with Mexico.

And although the number of illegal immigrants has decreased along the border, the number of people coming by sea continues to rise.

North County beaches, including Carlsbad's Ponto Beach, Surf Beach near the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station and Swami's Beach in Encinitas, have become frequent landing spots for boats loaded with people.

Federal agents say North County beaches are sought by smugglers because they offer a combination of seclusion and easy access to major roads, such as Interstate 5.

Smugglers take to the sea from Baja California beaches from Tijuana to Rosarito. They use small, open-air fishing boats called pangas, and slip into U.S. waters at night, docking as far north as southern Orange County, authorities say.

The tiny, overloaded boats often travel without lights to avoid detection and are operated by inexperienced crews.

"Not only are they exposing themselves (to the dangers of the seas), but they are putting their lives in the hands of smugglers," Conlin said.

In addition to the two people who lost their lives off Torrey Pines in January, one other person attempting to enter the country illegally died last year at sea, on Nov. 30, 2009.

There may be other deaths no one knows about, said Enrique Morones, who heads the Border Angels, a San Diego-based immigrant rights advocacy group.

Illegal immigrants hoping to evade the increased security along the land border ---- and the dangers of crossing deserts and mountains ---- may believe a sea voyage is a safer alternative, Morones said.

"They think it's safer, but it's not," he said. "There may be many who drift out into the ocean and are never heard from again."

Morones said his group tries to discourage people from risking their lives coming into the country illegally.

The group's website has a public service announcement that warns: "There are many reasons to cross the border; none of them are worth risking your life."

Call staff writer Edward Sifuentes at 760-740-3511.

NORTH COUNTY TIMES