A boat carrying suspected illegal immigrants landed in Newport Harbor in Newport Beach, clipping a yacht in the process, before the people aboard were loaded into waiting cars and driven away, according to a report from the California Post.
The daytime landing in the busy harbor startled residents of the coastal community, which has a population of about 82,000 and is known for low crime rates and high household incomes. Once ashore, the newcomers were quickly moved into vehicles staged nearby and taken to unknown destinations.
Federal authorities say the incident reflects a broader shift in smuggling tactics as land routes across the southern border have become harder to use. Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, said the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs and Border Protection have increased patrols to intercept smuggling boats before they reach the California coast, and that federal agents catch most such vessels while they are still on the water.
Newport Beach has not declared itself a sanctuary city, but like other California municipalities it is subject to state sanctuary laws that limit how much local police can cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Those restrictions apply regardless of whether a city or county has adopted its own sanctuary policy.
The incident comes amid broader scrutiny of California’s approach to illegal immigration. A recent report from City Journal, also carried by the California Post, found that some families in the country illegally can receive more than $100,000 a year in public services paid for by California taxpayers.
State sanctuary laws also limit the ability of authorities to hold people in the country illegally for deportation after they are released from custody on unrelated charges. In one recent case cited in commentary on the Newport Beach incident, an illegal immigrant was accused of fatally stabbing a 68-year-old man in his front yard in Martinez, California, one day after being released from jail in a sanctuary jurisdiction.
No further details have been released about the identities of those who came ashore in Newport Harbor, the extent of the damage to the yacht, or whether any arrests have been made in connection with the landing.
