Within the past few days, there have been a number of human smuggling attempts off the San Diego coastline, including one that resulted in a woman’s death. NBC 7’s Jeanette Quezada has more on the dangerous lengths people are going to enter the United States.
“It’s always alarming that so many people are putting themselves in so much danger,” Gerardo Gutierrez, a Border Patrol agent with the San Diego Sector, told NBC 7 on Wednesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard released a video this week when it intercepted a panga boat with 14 migrants just 20 miles off the coast of Point Loma Tuesday night. It was the latest interception the Coast Guard has conducted in less than a week.
Korey Green captured drone video on Saturday morning when a boat carrying more than a dozen migrants was rolled by a wave as it approached the Ocean Beach surfline. A 57-year-old woman who was trapped in the boat, died, and several others were injured.
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“A few years ago, we had an incident where one of the boats capsized and eight people lost their lives,” Gutierrez said. so like we always say, one death is too many."
Marine Safety Lt. Brian Clark of San Diego Lifeguard said migrant boats create a very dangerous situation not only for the people aboard but also for first responders.
“There are several lifeguards that went underneath the boat to pull some of the people out," Clark said. "There were some people that were trapped underneath the boat. That was a pretty critical rescue."
And on Monday night, U.S. Coast Guard intercepted a 40-foot-panga boat carrying 21 migrants, also 20 miles offshore.
According to the CBP, in just the last three months they’ve collaborated with other agencies and responded to more than 200 smuggling attempts by water, including people trying to cross on flotation devices, personal watercraft, recreational boats and panga boats.
Clark said the boats also pose a safety risk to the public.
“It’s really dangerous for a boat to come into the surf with surfers, swimmers, and boogie boarders in the water,” Clark said.
The dangers are not only at sea.
A 2022 study published by trauma physicians at UC San Diego Health attributed the rise in injuries at the border to the increased height of the border fence, which went from 8 and 17 feet up to 30 feet.
Last year, UC San Diego Health treated nearly 700 patients with injuries from border falls, compared with 42 in 2019, when the hospital first started tracking those numbers, a spokesperson said.
Many of the injuries include significant brain trauma and fractures to extremities and the spine.
Recently, razor wire was added along the border fence, which Gutierrez said, is intended to deter people from crossing.
“We always tell people coming across the border illegally, especially between the Ports of Entry: It’s not recommended,” Gutierrez said. "You shouldn’t do it."
Gutierrez said agents will continue to be vigilant and protect the border.