US Border Patrol apprehends 13 undocumented migrants from the Dominican Republic in Puerto Rico

AGUADILLA, Puerto Rico –US Border Patrol agents apprehended 13 undocumented migrants from the Dominican Republic that made landfall onboard a vessel Thursday morning in Villa Pesquera, Isabela.                                        

On May 16, at approximately 12:18 AM, Ramey Sector Border Patrol Agents responded to a maritime smuggling event and discovered an abandoned vessel on shore.  The vessel is described as a 30-ft blue in color homemade vessel with one 40hp Mercury outboard engine.

The nine non-citizens were transported to the Ramey Border Patrol Station for removal proceedings.

This smuggling event followed a prior incident where Border Patrol agents and Puerto Rico Police apprehended 46 non-citizens and found a deceased female. 

People who venture to cross the 80 nautical miles (130 kilometer) between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, on board a rustic and inadequate vessel, risk their lives, as well as the lives of law enforcement in both countries, tasked with the rescue mission.

The Ramey Sector is one of the twenty-one Sectors spread out across the United States. Encompassing the U.S. territorial islands of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, it is the only Border Patrol Sector located outside the continental United States. The Sector's entire border area is made up of coastline and its area of responsibility is made up of some 6,000 square miles of land and water area, including the twelve-mile band of territorial water surrounding the Islands.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is America's frontline: the nation's largest law enforcement organization and the world's first unified border management agency. The 65,000+ men and women of CBP protect America on the ground, in the air, and on the seas. We facilitate safe, lawful travel and trade and ensure our country's economic prosperity. We enhance the nation's security through innovation, intelligence, collaboration, and trust.