Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents rescued 23 Dominican immigrants stranded on Mona Island, part of Puerto Rico in the Mona Channel, a strait between the Dominican Republic and the Commonwealth.
The US federal agency reported through a statement Thursday that the Dominicans were part of a group of people who arrived on the shores of the wildlife refuge last Tuesday, an area that is part of Puerto Rico but closer to the island of La Spanish.
The Coast Guard’s San Juan sector received a report in the closing hours of Tuesday from the vigilantes of Puerto Rico’s Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, highlighting the presence of several unidentified people scattered around Mona Island and that the location was not accessible by road.
Several flights operated by Air and Maritime Operations (AMO) units and planes from the Puerto Rico Police Department confirmed the presence of a 7-meter ship stranded on the southeast side of the island.
A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter delivered food to the immigrants on Mona Island on Tuesday as Natural Resources observers continue their efforts to meet with the group to get them to safety.
On Wednesday, helicopters made several flights to Mona Island to pick up the 23 immigrants, 22 men and a woman who were being transported to Aguadilla, a town on the northwest coast of Puerto Rico.
The immigrants, who self-identified as citizens of the Dominican Republic, were met by Ramey sector border guards for processing.
Emergency medical services evaluated the health of the immigrants.
CBP is a unified U.S. border agency of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) charged with the management, control, and protection of the U.S. borders.
The federal agency is also responsible for countering terrorist threats and enforcing US laws.