On Monday (April 20), the US Department of Justice announced that 29 illegal immigrants from Mexico were arrested over the weekend on a panga boat about 10 miles south of the Channel Islands and are facing criminal charges related to immigration.
Five of the defendants are accused of illegally re-entering the United States after deportation or removal, which could result in up to 20 years of federal imprisonment. The other 24 individuals are facing charges of illegal entry, which carries a maximum penalty of 2 years of federal imprisonment.
The defendants appeared in the US Federal Courthouse in Los Angeles on the afternoons of the 21st and 22nd.
The Channel Islands located off the coast of Southern California overlook Los Angeles from afar.
According to the affidavits submitted with the indictment, on Saturday, April 18th, federal law enforcement intercepted a panga boat (a type of open fishing boat) about 10 miles south of San Nicolas Island, which is under Navy jurisdiction. The boat carried 29 individuals, all Mexican citizens, and none of them had legal documentation to reside in the United States.
Law enforcement officers towed the boat to Newport Beach and processed the defendants at the San Clemente Border Patrol station.
One of the defendants, 21-year-old Ismael Angeles-Guerrero, is accused of illegally re-entering the country after deportation. Last December, he was arrested in Marion County, Indiana for drunk driving, resisting arrest, driving without a license, and possession of marijuana. He was deported back to Mexico two months ago on February 20th.
Another defendant, 38-year-old Faustino Arguello, is among the 24 individuals charged with illegal entry. In September 2016, he was stopped twice by the Border Patrol near the US-Mexico border in Arizona and once near the international border in Texas, each time being deported back to Mexico.
In March of this year, Arguello was arrested at the San Ysidro port of entry for presenting someone else’s entry documents. The case was not convicted, and he was deported again afterward.
The investigation of this case is being carried out by Homeland Security Investigations and US Customs and Border Protection, with assistance from the US Coast Guard.