AGUADILLA, PUERTO RICO—U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol and Puerto Rico Police Department Special Units (FURA, for its Spanish acronym) apprehended 51 undocumented Haitian immigrants, 39 males and 12 females, after they landed Tuesday morning in the small isle of Desecheo, 13 miles off the western coast.
In the early morning hours, a CBP Border Patrol agent, on coastal patrol with a FURA marine unit, noticed a fire on Desecheo. After getting a closer look into the burning area, the agents found a group of suspected migrants near the fire.
FURA quickly deployed various vessels to assist Border Patrol in removing the migrants from Desecheo and transporting them to the Añasco Marine station. At the station Border Patrol agents assumed full custody of 51 persons who claimed to be citizens of Haiti.
The group will be transported to the Ramey Border Patrol Station for biometric and immigration processing.
CBIG was formally created to unify efforts of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico Police Department Special Units (FURA, for its Spanish acronym), in their common goal of securing the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands borders against illegal migrant and drug smuggling.