Authorities Detain 23 Suspects in Alleged Human Smuggling Operation off California Coast

This past weekend, border officials apprehended 23 individuals in an unsuccessful smuggling attempt along the California coast.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported that their air and marine units intercepted a panga-style boat on Saturday near San Clemente Island, situated off the coast of San Diego.

Upon boarding the vessel around 1 p.m., the authorities discovered 23 people on board, all of whom were in the country illegally.

The individuals were subsequently handed over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in San Diego for further processing.

Those detained appeared to include both men and women.

Back in February 2025, the mayor of San Clemente, a coastal city just north of San Diego, highlighted to Fox News Digital a rise in the use of panga boats. These vessels frequently land onshore to drop off migrants who quickly make their way inland.

“We’ve had a large increase in the number of pangas that have come up on our beach,” Steve Knoblock said at the time. “It happens, and nobody seems to notice. No one seems to capture it. There’s no interdiction, and we’ve been having them with much greater frequency.” 

In 2021, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) warned of increased sightings of pangas being used for smuggling in Southern California. The fishing boats are used by smugglers to transport migrants and illegal drugs, according to ICE. 

At the time, ICE said around 90 migrants were caught along the coastline of Los Angeles County on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and in San Pedro, Long Beach, Malibu, Santa Catalina Island and Newport Beach in Orange County. 

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