CARLSBAD, Calif. (KGTV) – Some North County leaders are raising concerns after a viral video taken over the weekend shows a boat with migrants barreling towards Carlsbad. The video, taken by a Carlsbad man, later shows a group of migrants jumping out to the shore.
Leaders are calling on more support for San Diego from the state and federal government following this incident.
“To see it live like that. I mean, even police and border patrol said they never caught it live like I did,” the man who recorded the video said. “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 sitting right there, so I thought it was a planned, staged event.”
The man, who didn’t want us to show his face or name, said he saw the migrants jump out and run to some nearby stairs.
“I counted 22 people jumping off. It looked like a military exercise,” the man said. “One car, one SUV, and then ten got in it, but they left the rest behind, and they [migrants] just started walking towards Carlsbad.”
@abc10news North County leaders are calling federal and state authorities to secure San Diego’s borders. This comes after Saturday’s incident where a boat carrying migrants sped up to the shore in Carlsbad. #viralvideos #migrants #border #sandiego #beach #carlsbad #carlsbadcalifornia #news #localnews #boat #panga #immigrant #immigration #foryou #foryoupage #videoviral #viralditiktok #lifeguards #shore #coastal #borderpatrol #northcountysd #sd #suv #pressconference #federal #state ♬ original sound - ABC 10News San Diego
After this incident, a handful of North County leaders, including San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, raised concerns about border security and San Diego's beaches.
“We cannot have people just rushing on boats onto our shores and going into neighborhoods,” Desmond said. “We need harsher penalties on human smugglers. We need the state and federal officials to bring more resources, whether it’s more Coast Guard or National Guard.”
Now, the Biden administration is allocating $45 million to California to deal with migrants who cross the border.
The President also plans to issue an executive order drastically limiting the number of asylum seekers who can enter the country.
“If we would treat people humanly, have an immigration system that worked and we enforce those laws, I think we’d be a much better country,” Desmond said. “People could enter with dignity, with their head held high instead of coming in, dropping off on boats and have to run through our streets.”
