Some immigrants have told U.S. authorities that they have departed on their sea voyages to the United States from the run-down village of Popotla, near Rosarito Beach in Baja California. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Makeshift seafood restaurants line the only street in Popotla, the departure point for many smuggling vessels. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
Out-of-work fishermen and squatters huddle by a campfire in the basement of a tumbled-down boathouse in Popotla. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
The Midnight Express, a 900-horsepower U.S. Customs and Border Protection boat, speeds across San Diego Bay. The crew’s mission is to intercept smugglers who try to bring drugs and immigrants into the U.S. along the coast. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
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The Midnight Express heads out of San Diego Bay. On a typical night, only two vessels patrol the coastal waters, according to the Coast Guard. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
John Carter, left, and Kristopher Ensley tie a smuggler’s boat to the dock at the Ballast Point Coast Guard Station in San Diego. The men intercepted the fiberglass panga about 20 miles off the coast with 22 illegal immigrants aboard. (Don Bartletti / Los Angeles Times)
