WASHINGTON: Eight Indian men along with three others have been arrested by officials of the US Customs department for allegedly trying to illegally enter American territory of Puerto Rico.
The arrests were made yesterday by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) along with local law enforcement agencies from Dominican Republic.
These 11 undocumented migrants from India and Dominican Republic made landfall on Wednesday in the islands' western coast, CBP said in a statement.
"Migrants that make an extremely long travel from India should be aware of the perils of coming all the way to the Caribbean to enter the United States," said Ramiro Cerrillo, Ramey Sector Chief Patrol Agent for the Ramey Sector in Aguadilla.
"Crossing the Mona Passage is a treacherous voyage filled with many dangers that pose a huge risk to migrants," he said.
The undocumented people were transported to the Ramey Border Patrol station for further investigation and processing.
On September 29, Border Patrol Agents apprehended 20 migrants, 13 claiming to be citizens of the Dominican Republic (12 males and 1 female) and seven claiming to be Indian nationals (six males and one female).
On February 1, four undocumented migrants from Pakistan and India were apprehended while wandering in the western side of the island.
In October last year, Border Patrol also apprehended 13 undocumented migrants from India
