17 Boat People Found Off California Coast

U.S. border agents intercepted a 26-foot boat off the coast of Southern California they say was carrying 17 suspected illegal immigrants. Thirteen men and four women were taken into custody. U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Vince Bond said one of the 17 will be charged with smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States. Agents using night vision equipment spotted the boat running without navigation lights about 1 a.m. about 10 miles off the coast of Point Loma.The boat had no registration markings, Bond said. Immigration officials say it's the second time in about a month a boat carrying suspected illegal immigrants has been found. In the last case, 15 people were found adrift in a boat about 15 miles west of Mission Bay. The officials say there have been at least 20 such attempts in the past several months.