Approximately two dozen suspected illegal migrants were recently filmed rushing off a boat at a luxe marina in California and disappearing into the neighborhood.
A video posted to X on Thursday shows the group unloading off a boat at Newport Beach Harbor, on the tip of the Balboa Peninsula, and fleeing into the neighborhood. The boat was left abandoned in the water.
It's not clear where the suspected migrants came from, or where they were heading.
Newport Beach Mayor Will O'Neill said he's aware of the incident and has been in touch with the Orange County Sheriff about it.
"I wholeheartedly agree with O.C. Sheriff Don Barnes's tweet from two days ago about how our law enforcement's hands get tied behind their backs by Sacramento's 'sanctuary state' policies," O'Neill posted on X.
On April 30, Barnes posted that "Maritime smuggling is up, and although our Harbor Patrol works to interdict vessels trafficking drugs and people, state restrictions on communications with federal partners hinder our efforts. The state should repeal laws that restrict communication with our federal partners."
O'Neill called the nation's border crisis "serious, lawless and dangerous."
"The approaches taken by the administrations in D.C. and Sacramento have made it significantly worse. As it has been said, every city is now a border city," O'Neill said. "We must expect better from people in charge of enforcing our laws."
Over the last three years, California has seen an "exponential increase in maritime smuggling," Brandon Tucker, director of Customs and Border Protection's Air and Marine Operations in San Diego, told Fox News.
"Smugglers have convinced migrants that the maritime environment is an easier route. It's more of a sure thing," Tucker said. "And in fact, it's not. … Ocean smuggling is so dangerous."
Almost 8,000 people have been apprehended while trying to enter the U.S. illegally through the Pacific Ocean since 2020, the network noted, citing CBP data.
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