San Clemente leaders are working with US Customs and Border Protection to add cameras along the city’s beaches and piers to arrest people who try to illegally enter the country.
On Tuesday, council members asked Mayor Andy Hall to meet with CBP agents to set up and monitor cameras. Officials said the intention was to curb illegal Panga landings as restrictions on border entries were closed.
Mayor Stephen Knoblock told The Times that South American criminals were the motives for the operation.
On January 25th, 2025, patrol US Customs and Border Guard patrols in a truck along the US-Mexico border wall in Imperial Beach, San Diego.
(Allen J. Scheven/Los Angeles Times)
“San Clemente has serious crime issues with a sophisticated Chilean robbery ring that has hit the neighbourhood very systematically and continues to be a problem,” Knoblock said in an email. . “Our local police services do a good job protecting our neighborhood. The camera project provides additional security to the citizens.”
The city’s move comes after council members refused to push Knoblock and refused to take part in the lawsuits Huntington Beach filed against Gavin Newsom and Governor Dist. Atty. Rob Bonta over California Sanctuary Law or California Value Law.
The law limits cooperation between local law enforcement agencies and federal immigration officials.
San Clemente doesn’t have its own police force, but it’s been patrolled by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, which says the sheriff “does not enforce federal immigration laws.”
But the camera project means the city can work with federal immigration officials. The mayor originally presented the project with local volunteers in place, the Orange County Register reported. However, council members decided on Tuesday to rely on CBP to carry out supervision.
Knoblock said the city has seen a recent rise in immigrants missing in documents that arrived late into the night and early morning hours via Pangas. Boats that move overboard are usually used for fishing.
Panga ships are often used to smuggle immigrants and drugs, according to the US Immigration Customs Enforcement website. In 2021, federal agents coordinated with local governments to halt 12 smuggling operations in Orange, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Approximately 90 people illegally in the country have been arrested along the coastline of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Long Beach, San Pedro, Malibu, Newport Beach and Santa Catalina Island.
The small boats that arrive at San Clemente Beach bring about 15-20 individuals each, according to city officials.
“People have observed pangas being stuffed with illegal aliens, bumping into our beaches, scattered across the community, and jumping into vans that are ready to park and pick up nearby,” Knoblock said. Says. “Many of the landings occur at night.”
Knoblock said the cameras operate 24/7, and will be located in the San Clemente Pier and multiple homeowners association structures between the northern and southern edges of the beach, providing approximately seven miles of surveillance to federal agents. We will provide you.
“We recommend targeting the Ocean Word with a rotating telescope lens and thermal imaging for night viewing,” says Knoblock. “This additional visibility hopefully provides a blocking beforehand. [migrants] You bump into our beach. ”
The city is also trying to provide open viewing access to the public, similar to current coverage of the live streaming of San Clemente Beach.
Daily pilot staff writer Gabriel San Romain contributed to this report.
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