As other California cities double their sanctuary policies to protect illegal immigration, one coastal enclave monitors beaches 24 hours a day to stop boats carrying illegal immigrants They are trying to work directly with border authorities to do so.
San Clemente City leaders monitor the city's seven-mile coastline with mayor Andy Hall earlier this month discussing the installation and use of existing cameras to coordinate with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). He told me to do it.
Mayor Steve Knockblock told Fox News Digital that the cameras aim to stop illegal immigration and other criminal activities. He lands in small fishing boats called Pangas often land to unload illegal immigrants who disappear inland.
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A woman walks along the beach north of San Clemente Pier as the waves hit a rock just below the railway tracks in San Clemente, California. (Mark RightMire/Medianews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
“We've seen a huge increase in the number of pangas that have appeared on our beaches over the last month or so,” he said. “It happens, and no one seems to notice. No one seems to be catching it. There's no interference. We have them much more often.”
The city has cameras on the pier and monitors beaches for marine safety issues, but none of them monitor the ocean, Knoblock said. He suggested pointing the camera towards the water and adding a technical upgrade. At the Feb. 4 meeting, the city council agreed to contact the U.S. Border Patrol to ask about working together to monitor the oceans from the city, the mayor said.
In 2021, the US Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) warned of an increase in sightings of pangas used in smuggling in Southern California. According to ICE, fishing boats are used by smugglers to transport immigrants and illegal drugs.
At the time, Ice was captured about 90 immigrants along the coastline of Los Angeles County on the Palos Verdes Peninsula and along the Santa Catalina Island in Orange County, San Pedro, Long Beach, Long Beach, Long Beach and San Pedro in Newport Beach. I said that.
Over the past month, San Clemente has seen the rise on small boats carrying immigrants. In some cases, migrants are still on board when they are discovered, but in many cases the vessel is abandoned. Knoblock said the increase could likely stem from the Trump administration's strict border measures to curb illegal land intersections to the United States.
Panga boats are often used to smuggle illegal immigrants. (KTTV)
“President Trump has done an incredible job securing San Diego's Mexican border, but we're getting people from 150 countries that appear in the water,” Knoblock said. “It's like a land invasion has been stopped, but the ocean invasion has begun.”
The U.S. Border Patrol operates stations and traffic checkpoints in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 to curb illegal immigration and drug smuggling away from the border area.
“Criminal cross-border organizations continue to exploit dangerous and often unpredictable marine environments due to the smuggling of people and other contraband,” a CBP spokesman said, “The potential camera project in San Clemente He told Fox News Digital when asked about it.
“In response, CBP is the most effective of human resources, infrastructure and technology to block maritime smuggling events, protect coastal communities, and bring criminal consequences to smugglers who prioritize benefits over safety. We will continue to evaluate the combination of developments.
In addition to the smuggling vessels, the city had to fight against Chilean gangs targeting their homes to commit robberies.
“I had a Chilean gang rash. They're very organized,” Knoblock said. “They are watching the neighborhood. They come and go in and out in five or ten minutes. We have these splates.”
Since 2017, local governments in California have been prohibited from working with federal immigration officials after the passage of a sanctuary state law known as the California Value Act. However, some cities have been pushed back.
US Border Patrol agents sit in a vehicle on a beach near the US-Mexico border in San Diego. (Getty Images)
Huntington Beach, a city north of San Clemente, has sued Gov. Gavin Newsom and state attorney general Rob Bonta by law, recently declared it a secular city. San Clemente said it refused to participate in the lawsuit, citing a $100,000 allocation proposal from the city's General Fund for legal costs.
Despite the state's sanctuary law, San Clemente's camera project with border authorities would not involve local governments, Knoblock said.
Boat wash in Malibu Beach (KTTV)
The city doesn't have its own police force and serves the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Sheriff Don Burns said immigration enforcement is a federal duty.
Instead, San Clemente will work directly with border authorities.
