SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton repatriated eight Dominican migrants to La Romana, Dominican Republic Monday, following an at-sea interdiction by Caribbean Border Interagency Group CBIG authorities Sunday, approximately three nautical miles west of Rincon, Puerto Rico.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico will be filing criminal charges against three other Dominican men travelling with the group, two for attempting to enter illegally and one for attempting to reenter illegally into the U.S.
Coast Guard watchstanders in Sector San Juan received notification from the U.S. Border Patrol at approximately 4 a.m. Sunday, reporting the interdiction. The Charles Sexton arrived on scene and embarked 10 men and one woman from the vessel. The crew of the Charles Sexton provided the migrants food, water, and shelter. They also conducted biometric processing on the migrants to determine if any had a previous criminal or illegal immigration history in the United States or a U.S. Territory.
Border Patrol agents, transported to the Charles Sexton by a Joint Forces of Rapid Action marine unit, conducted migrant interviews and subsequently placed the three Dominicans into custody to face judicial proceedings ashore.
The Charles Sexton rendezvoused with a Dominican Navy patrol vessel off the coast of La Romana, Dominican Republic, where the crew repatriated the eight remaining migrants.
The Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton is a 154-foot fast response cutter, homeported in Key West, Fla.CBIG 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, in their common goal of securing the borders of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands against illegal migrant and drug smuggling.