A total of 30 Haitian and Dominican migrants were arrested by the federal authorities on the island of Mona, a Natural Reserve of Puerto Rico, the United States Coast Guard reported.
The migrants are 27 Haitian and 3 Dominican citizens, who were arrested with the help of rangers from the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico.
The group was transferred to American border patrol agents in the town of Mayagüez, in western Puerto Rico, for processing and deportation, according to the state guard statement.
“The United States maritime borders are not open to illegal entry and anyone who tries to enter by sea will be intercepted and processed for repatriation,” said Commander Matthew Romano, head of response of the San Juan de la Guardia de la Coast sector.
The Coast Guard received the notice about the presence of people on Mona Island on Friday afternoon and the crew of one of its helicopters observed a foliage -covered vessel and people who rushed to hide.
This island is located in the so -called Mona Canal, which separates Puerto Rico from the Dominican Republic and is a usual immigration route.
In recent years, there have been numerous cases of bailouts and arrests on the island of Mona de Migrants who had been stranded after being abandoned by the smugglers.
