SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard, in a joint operation with the Dominican Republic Navy, repatriated 44 of 58 Dominicans in waters south of Santo Domingo Saturday following an at-sea interdiction of a migrant vessel by the Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser Thursday, approximately 36 nautical miles northeast of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico will be filing a criminal complaints against 12 of the migrants interdicted, who are facing potential criminal prosecution, one for alien smuggling and 11 for attempted illegal re-entry into the United States.
Two other migrants were also brought ashore to Puerto Rico for further administrative processing based on their prior immigration histories.
The crew of a Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft on a routine patrol Thursday detected the migrants traveling aboard a grossly overloaded 25-foot boat with 58 Dominicans, 56 men, one adult woman and a female minor. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector San Juan diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Winslow Griesser to interdict the migrant vessel and launched a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Borinquen to provide rescue support. The Winslow Griesser arrived on scene and interdicted the migrant vessel. Shortly thereafter, the crew of the Winslow Griesser handed out lifejackets and embarked the migrants. Once onboard the Winslow Griesser, the migrants underwent biometric processing to determine if any had a previous criminal or illegal immigration history in the United States.
The Winslow Griesser transferred custody of the migrants facing prosecution and administrative processing to Ramey Sector Border Patrol Agents in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico Friday afternoon. The remaining migrants were transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Paul Clark and transported to Dominican Republic waters, where they were transferred to a Dominican Republic Navy patrol boat Saturday just off Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
“The quick response and coordination between the Coast Guard crews saved 58 lives from a grossly overloaded and unseaworthy boat with no life saving equipment onboard,” said Cmdr. Heather Kelly, Sector San Juan Chief of Response. “The collective resolve and strong partnerships between local and federal law enforcement partners in Puerto Rico and with the Dominican Republic navy remain instrumental in detecting, interdicting and saving these illegal voyages from the perils of the Mona Passage.”
The Caribbean Border Interagency Group was formally created to unify efforts of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the United States Attorney‘s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, and Puerto Rico Police Joint Forces of Rapid Action (FURA, for its Spanish acronym), in their common goal of securing the borders of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands against illegal migrant and drug smuggling.
The Winslow Griesser and Paul Clark are a 154-foot Fast Response Cutters homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Miami respectively.