Through a statement, the US Border Patrol (USBP), assigned to the Imperial Beach Station, shows its concern about the increase in the crossing of migrants, swimming through the sea.

During the month of May, there have been five events in which migrants swam across the maritime border line. During these events, seven migrants were detained while nine managed to swim back to Mexico before agents could capture them.

The first of these took place on May 3, when a range operator observed five swimmers heading north along the Imperial Beach shoreline. The US Coast Guard responded to the area, but when the swimmers realized they had been seen, they all turned and swam back into Mexican waters.

On May 21, a scope operator observed a subject swimming across the US/Mexico maritime border line, approximately one mile offshore. Border Patrol agents searched for, found and detained the swimmer.

Then, on May 24, an operator of the Remote Video Surveillance System detected two swimmers crossing the maritime border line, approximately 200 yards from the coast. The US Coast Guard responded and later reported that the swimmers had managed to swim back south across the sea boundary line.

Finally, on May 25, two separate smuggling attempts were made in the pre-dawn hours. The first was a group of six bathers detected crossing the maritime border line. A few hours after the detection, the group was seen on the coast approximately three miles north of the border. Agents responded and were able to apprehend four of the six swimmers, and the other two were able to return south toward Mexico. The second event of the morning occurred when cameramen from the Joint Port Operations Center (JHOC) reported two swimmers exiting the water and walking north on the beach approximately two miles north of the border. A USBP all-terrain vehicle unit responded and detained the two subjects who were hiding in the rocks next to the beach.

The USBP calls on migrants not to expose themselves or their families to the dangers of the ocean. “Swimming across the sea border line is extremely dangerous for even the most experienced swimmers,” San Diego Sector Chief Patrol Agent Aaron Heitke said.