California Beach Town Wants Cameras To Stop Migrants

A California beach town southeast of Los Angeles in Orange County is stepping up efforts to monitor its coastline amid a rise in migrant-smuggling by boat.

San Clemente officials want federal authorities to install cameras along the shore, aiming to enhance security and deter illegal crossings.

Why It Matters

Illegal border crossings have fallen under President Donald Trump as Republicans look to "secure the border."

Trump has implemented hard-line immigration reforms, including limiting asylum opportunities and lifting restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers making arrests at sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals.

In response, many Democrat-led cities and states have reinforced their sanctuary policies, which restrict local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities. However, some cities in sanctuary states have begun to break away from protecting undocumented migrants.

What To Know

"In the last month or so, we've had a large increase in the number of pangas [fishing boats] that have come up on our beach," San Clemente Mayor Steve Knoblock told Fox News Digital. "It happens, and nobody seems to notice. No one seems to capture it. There's no interdiction, and we've been having them with much greater frequency," he said.

San Clemente has cameras on its pier to monitor beach safety, but none facing the ocean, Knoblock said. He proposed repositioning the cameras and upgrading their technology to improve coastal surveillance.

At a February 4 meeting, the San Clemente's council directed the city's manager to coordinate with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on installing and utilizing existing cameras along the town's 7-mile coastline. Officials also plan to explore a partnership with the U.S. Border Patrol to enhance monitoring efforts.

In 2021, ICE warned that smugglers were increasingly using pangas—small fishing boats—to transport migrants and illegal drugs along the Southern California coast.

San Clemente has seen a rise in these boats arriving in recent weeks, with some discovered carrying migrants and others abandoned.

Since 2017, California's sanctuary state law, the California Values Act (SB 54), has limited local law enforcement's cooperation with federal immigration authorities. However, it includes exemptions for those convicted of felonies or serious violent crimes.

Opposition to sanctuary policies has been growing in California.

Republicans argue these laws hinder immigration enforcement and public safety.

Also in Orange County and around 30 miles northwest of San Clemente, on January 21, Huntington Beach's city council unanimously approved Mayor Pat Burns' proposal to designate the city a "non-sanctuary" jurisdiction, aligning with Trump's immigration policies.

Burns cited rising violent crime as a justification for the move, positioning Huntington Beach against some of Governor Gavin Newsom's policies, while supporting the Trump administration's hard-line stance on immigration.

What People Are Saying

San Clemente Mayor Steve Knoblock told Fox News Digital: "President Trump has done a great job of securing the Mexican border in San Diego, but we're getting people from 150 countries that are coming up by water.

"It's like the land invasion has been stopped, but the sea invasion is starting."

"We've had a rash of Chilean gangs. They're very organized," Knoblock said. "They monitor the neighborhood. They come in and out in five or 10 minutes. We've had a spate of these."

A CBP spokesperson said in a statement: "Transnational criminal organizations continue to exploit the dangerous and often unpredictable maritime environment for the smuggling of people and other contraband."

"In response, CBP will continue to assess the most effective deployment combination of manpower, infrastructure and technology to interdict maritime smuggling events, protect coastal communities and deliver criminal consequences to smugglers who prioritize profit over safety."

What Happens Next

San Clemente officials plan to continue discussions with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to finalize details on camera installation and upgrade coastal surveillance measures as they look to curb small boats crossing.