Surveillance footage showed a boat with what's believed to be over a dozen suspected illegal migrants docking in Newport Beach, California this past weekend.

Grainy footage appears to show several people getting off the 20-foot boat near Cypress Street, scratching a yacht in close proximity.

The suspected migrants then get off and walk away from the area's waterfront, Fox 11 reported.  

It is believed the boat has since been commandeered by the Coast Guard in the wake of the incident. 

Newport Beach City Council member Erik Weigand said said federal agents are 'trying to work with our local police department in making sure we apprehend these guys.'

'It's an unsafe thing, right? A bunch of guys coming off a boat, they're slamming into the neighborhood here and trying to get away as fast as possible.' 

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Daily Mail the boat had been seized Saturday by Customs and Border Protection after an initial search indicated it had been used for 'human smuggling.'

The ritzy California town has seen incidents like this before, including a viral video of over 20 trying to get into the country through Balboa Peninsula in 2024.

In 2024, about 20 migrants sprinted off a boat after it docked at a marina on the tip of the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach, California, during an immigration surge that tarnished Joe Biden's presidency.

They climbed over fences and ran across the jetty towards the street, leaving the empty boat floating behind. A white van slowed down on the street as they arrived, but it was unclear if it was there to pick them up.

Footage of the migrants arriving and then sprinting into the US was posted online. 

Donald Trump has continued his immigration crackdown, meeting a key campaign promise, in his second term in office.

Most recently, the Trump administration's new rules on green card dispersals took effect Friday, allowing federal officials to check whether applicants will need social benefits before approving permanent residency. 

As of Friday, immigrants applying to receive their green cards must include information about whether they already are on social benefits and give information indicating whether they will need them in the future. 

The new criteria will factor into the decision on whether their applications are approved and whether they are allowed to work and live in the US permanently. 

Approximately 1.3 million green card applications were pending as of December 2025, according to the latest US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) data.  

Denial rates vary, but are estimated to be between 10 and 16 percent depending on the specific visa category being applied for, according to Alma Immigration.  

The maneuver is just one of many that the Trump administration has pushed to crack down on migration.

According to the new rule from USCIS, applicants will be screened to see if they are deemed a 'public charge,' in essence, whether the migrants have sufficient means to support themselves, or whether they will need taxpayer-funded assistance. 

In 2022, under former President Joe Biden, USCIS, a sub-agency of the Department of Homeland Security, lowered the scrutiny on migrants' financial state and potential draw on social benefits during the application process, making it easier for cash-strapped individuals to gain permanent residence. 

Trump's change rescinds the Biden-era rule and allows immigration officials to consider a larger scope of public benefits programs when determining whether applicants will become 'public charges.' 

The specific programs that will be weighed in the application process are not specified by name, but rather USCIS 'will consider the receipt of any means-tested public benefits.'

Immigration officials can consider whether the migrants will need SNAP food benefits, Medicaid, housing assistance or many other public subsidies. 

Several Democratic lawmakers introduced the Protect American Values Act to block funding for the rule change in August.

Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois called the move 'yet another cruel, un-American assault on immigrants and their families.'

A coalition of 22 states and DC, including California and New York, sued the Trump administration this week in an effort to halt the change. 

The coalition has argued they would lose billions in federal funding should migrants unenroll from assistance programs over fears of how they could impact their green card applications.