AGUADILLA, Puerto Rico – U.S. Border Patrol Agents apprehended 64 non-citizens from Haiti Thursday who were abandoned by a smuggling organization in Mona Island on Wednesday.
Last Sunday Sept. 29, fourteen non-citizens from Haiti were transported to the Mayaguez Port of Entry by the US Coast Guard after being left stranded by smugglers in Monito Island. Two weeks ago, federal authorities removed 31 Haitians that were abandoned in the same location.
“I reiterate the fact that there are safe, orderly, and lawful paths to come to the United States. There is no need to risk their lives traversing the Mona Passage in the hands of ruthless smugglers, only to arrive at our coast and face the legal consequences of unlawful entry” stated Reggie Johnson, Acting Chief Patrol Agent for Ramey Sector. “Smugglers and bad actors continue to spread falsehoods and show complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of vulnerable migrants.”
On Oct. 2, the Ramey Border Patrol Station received a call from Park Rangers of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources reporting that 64 non-citizens of Haiti had been smuggled and left on Mona Island, PR.
On Oct. 3, 2024, a US Coast Guard cutter arrived at the Mayaguez Port and turned over custody of 64 Haitians, 30 adult men, 28 adult women, 3 accompanied minors and 3 unaccompanied minors, to Ramey Sector Border Patrol Agents.
All migrants will be processed for removal proceedings. Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) and CBP’s National Standards on Transport, Escort, Detention and Search (TEDS).TVPRA, any minor who is not with a parent or legal guardian is considered unaccompanied and must be transferred to the Department of Health and Human Services for appropriate care. Nonetheless, they are processed and transferred to HHS consistent with existing protocols.
The Ramey Sector is one of the twenty-one Sectors spread out across the United States. Encompassing the U.S. territorial islands of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, it is the only Border Patrol Sector located outside the continental United States. The Sector’s entire border area is made up of coastline and its area of responsibility is made up of some 6,000 square miles of land and water area, including the twelve-mile band of territorial water surrounding the Islands.
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