PORT CLINTON, Ohio — An illegal immigrant was arrested on a jet ski fishing in Lake Erie on Tuesday.
Border Patrol said agents spotted the watercraft one mile north of West Harbor.
Authorities said the jet ski appeared to be anchored with two people fishing and had no state registration number visible.
Air and Marine Operations (AMOP) and a Border Patrols agent made contact with the people on the jet ski, who admitted they were from Mexico and did not have any immigration documents.
The two people were transported by AMO back to land and handed off to Border Patrol agents who transported them to the United States Border Patrol Sandusky Bay Station for further identification.
“During the summer months Lake Erie is one of the busiest boating communities in the nation,” said Brian Manaher, Deputy Director Marine Operations, Great Lakes Air and Marine Branch. “This case is a testament to our highly skilled law enforcement ability to differentiate between legitimate boat traffic and nefarious traffic.”
At the Border Patrol station, one of the people was identified as a valid DACA recipient and released to his jet ski.
The other man was identified as an illegal immigrant with a warrant of deportation which was issued on Oct. 2, 2012.
The man and his property were turned over to ICE where he will be held pending his removal.
