Immigration-Law Enforcement

[Tamaroa]

A not so pleasant part of our job:


Coast Guard Intercepts 348 Dominicans
Associated Press
January 31, 2004


SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The U.S. Coast Guard detained 348 Dominican migrants off the west coast of Puerto Rico on Friday.

The two boats were discovered late Thursday and Friday in the Mona Passage, which separates the Dominican Republic from the U.S. Caribbean territory of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard has detained nearly 1,500 Dominicans this month alone, compared to 180 in December.

The increase comes as the Dominican economy worsens, with inflation topping 42 percent and the peso at less than half of last year's value. Unemployment is topping 16 percent.

A U.S. immigration aircraft on Thursday night spotted the first 40-foot (12-meter) boat overloaded with 245 migrants, the largest group of migrants interdicted on a single vessel in recent history. One woman was found unconscious but she was resuscitated and recovered.

The second boat was spotted early Friday with 103 migrants aboard. There were no injuries reported on the second vessel.