As Texas managed to put illegal immigration under control at the southern border, illegal immigration has exploded in California, and the state’s southern areas are already heavily impacted by the thousands of migrants released on the streets. Local hospitals are heavily overwhelmed by the number of injured migrants that arrive for treatment on a daily basis, the local economy suffers, and local residents fear for their safety, driving gun sales way up. And California is expected to see even more migrants in the months to come.
The number of migrants goes up
According to official numbers, there have been nearly 215,000 apprehensions since last October, which is also the start of the fiscal year. In March alone, there have been 137,000 total apprehensions across all sectors, a spokesperson for the Border Patrol confirmed. The current trend and number of immigrants arriving at the California border have not been seen since the 1990s. One of the biggest problems in controlling immigration is California’s “sanctuary state” status, which ultimately prevents local law enforcement from working with immigration officials, making it more difficult to effectively manage immigration issues.
The immigration crisis reaches a ‘boiling point’
Since the start of the fiscal year, California has seen a record-high number of migrant encounters to date, and experts predict that the state will set a new annual record as a growing number of migrants are expected to choose California as an entry point to the U.S. in an effort to avoid Texas, where getting into the country has become almost impossible. Earlier this week, yet another incident showed that those looking to enter the country don’t choose their way in as long as they can get their feet on U.S. soil.
Authorities were caught off guard by the recent arrival of migrants with a boat
Early Thursday morning, a group of about 20 suspected unauthorized migrants arrived by boat at a high-end marina in California and quickly dispersed into a local neighborhood. This event occurred at Balboa Peninsula, Newport Beach, where a video captured the migrants leaving the white boat and climbing over nearby fences.
“I’m aware of a video showing a mass of people offloading from a boat in our Harbor,” Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill posted on X . “I’ve been in touch with the O.C. Sheriff’s Department who patrols our Harbor to find out how we can do better.”
Maritime smuggling skyrocketed this year
There has been a significant increase in maritime smuggling this year. The number of incidents in California jumped from 308 in 2020 to 736 in 2024, marking a 140% rise. Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes highlighted these figures, referencing data from US Customs and Border Protection. Notably, California’s sanctuary state laws prevent law enforcement from arresting or detaining migrants solely for entering the U.S. illegally.
“Our nation’s border crisis is serious, lawless, and dangerous,” O’Neill added. “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. We must expect better from people in charge of enforcing our laws.”
Two similar incident weeks apart
This week’s incident took place just two weeks after similar one took place in Carlsbad, 58 miles south of Newport Beach. Video evidence from mid-April shows dozens of individuals disembarking rapidly from a speedboat at a Californian beach and fleeing into the nearby city, an event that locals are now calling a frequent sight. The video captured the speedboat as it approached Carlsbad’s shore, narrowly avoiding a surfer.
The person who recorded this incident compared it to a military operation, noting the swift and organized manner in which 22 people exited the speedboat. “To see it live like that, I mean even police and border patrol said they never caught it live like I did,” the unidentified resident said, as reported by KGTV.
“So to see one coming toward the shore at 40, 45 miles an hour and not turning, it was like a movie… and the lifeguards were just sitting there, so I thought it was a planned, staged event,” the resident added.
