The illegal immigrants, including two previously deported felons, were seated on the decks of the two 15-foot fishing boats that were outfitted for smuggling with extra fuel tanks hidden under the seats.

The ICE officers alerted the U.S. Border Patrol and the Coast Guard after spotting the vessels as they crossed the international border. The boats, whose captains tried to use the heavy weekend recreational boat traffic to mask the attempt, were stopped as they entered San Diego Bay.

“This operation is an excellent example of Department of Homeland Security interagency cooperation and our joints efforts to combat dangerous human smuggling methods used by unscrupulous smugglers, both on land and sea,” said Deputy Field Director David Butterfield of the San Diego Air and Marine Branch. “We will continue our patrols seven days a week in the San Diego area to ensure that our local waterways are safe and secure.”

The local San Diego ICE Marine Task Force seized the vessels. The U.S. Border Patrol processed the illegal immigrants for removal back to Mexico.

The ICE San Diego Air and Marine Branch is located at the Naval Air Station on North Island and one of three ICE aviation facilities in California. In these types of enforcement operations ICE uses a 39-foot, high-speed interceptor vessel powered by four 225-horse power outboard motors.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for the enforcement of border, economic, infrastructure and transportation security laws. ICE seeks to prevent acts of terrorism by targeting the people, money and materials that support terror and criminal networks.