- READ MORE: The reality of America's migrant crisis
Shocking new video purportedly shows illegal immigrants being dropped off in San Diego via jet skis - with the waterlogged arrivals being cheerfully welcomed by beachgoers.
A group of stunned cliff divers at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, California, watched in awe as jet skiers pulled up to the shoreline to drop off the migrants, two videos show.
The divers stand in silence as the watercraft comes close to the cliffs and a person wearing a light-colored top hops off and runs toward the sand.
'Oh s**t,' a witness says, according to a TikTok video. As a second jet ski pulls in, he yells: 'Welcome to the US!
'Oh s**t, oh s**t. They just crossed into the United States... Aye! Welcome to the United States of America!' the witness shouts while whooping and hollering.
The second migrant, wearing a dark top, then gestures toward the cliff.
![A group of cliff divers at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, California, watched in awe as jet skiers pulled up to the shoreline to drop off migrants, videos show.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/01/18/88046839-13698757-A_group_of_cliff_divers_at_Sunset_Cliffs_in_San_Diego_California-a-63_1722532867212.jpg)
A group of cliff divers at Sunset Cliffs in San Diego, California, watched in awe as jet skiers pulled up to the shoreline to drop off migrants, videos show.
![A witness shouts: 'They just crossed into the United States... Aye! Welcome to the United States of America!'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/01/18/88046843-13698757-A_witness_shouts_They_just_crossed_into_the_United_States_Aye_We-a-65_1722532867306.jpg)
A witness shouts: 'They just crossed into the United States... Aye! Welcome to the United States of America!'
A separate TikTok video shows the migrants having to fight the tide to get to the shoreline as the jet skis pull away.
'Welcome! You made it!' one witness yells.
'Stealing another job!' another shouts.
Last week, the Department of Justice announced it has criminally charged 19 alleged members of a human smuggling organization who were using personal watercraft to drop off unauthorized migrants in San Diego.
It is unclear if this incident is connected to this case. DailyMail.com has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
![A separate TikTok video shows the migrants having to fight the tide to get to the shoreline as the jet skis pull away.](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/01/18/88046845-13698757-A_separate_TikTok_video_shows_the_migrants_having_to_fight_the_t-a-64_1722532867305.jpg)
A separate TikTok video shows the migrants having to fight the tide to get to the shoreline as the jet skis pull away.
'The Justice Department is committed to dismantling transnational human smuggling operations that prey on migrants and threaten our national security,' Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said in a statement.
'Nefarious organizations like the one charged in this case can expect to answer for their alleged crimes in American courtrooms.'
'Whether racing a jet ski up the coast without lifejackets or hauling a tractor-trailer packed with people, smugglers expose vulnerable migrants to extreme danger and prioritize profit over human life,' Tara McGrath, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, said in a statement.
Sunset Cliffs, Bird Rock in La Jolla, and Imperial Beach are often hotspot drop-off locations and many migrants are brought in under the cover of night, according to the Justice Department.
Many migrants were then transported via ground transportation to Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, and Las Vegas.
The operation allegedly charged migrants between $7,000 and $16,000 to smuggle a single person into the US.
![A newly installed barbed-wire fencing at the Darien Gap has forced migrants to find other ways to the US](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/01/18/88010257-13698757-A_newly_installed_barbed_wire_fencing_at_the_Darien_Gap_has_forc-a-66_1722532867306.jpg)
A newly installed barbed-wire fencing at the Darien Gap has forced migrants to find other ways to the US
![The Darien Gap is the only land channel connecting South America, from Colombia, towards the United States through Panama](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/08/01/18/76772145-13698757-The_Darien_Gap_is_the_only_land_channel_connecting_South_America-a-67_1722532867306.jpg)
The Darien Gap is the only land channel connecting South America, from Colombia, towards the United States through Panama
Migrants have begun to take new risks after a newly installed barbed wire fence was placed at the Darien Gap in Panama - a popular spot where 500,000 migrants entered the US last year.
Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino gave the order to block the dangerous jungle crossing. Panama’s border police have erected about three miles of barbed wire to block some trails and funnel migrants to a single reception point.
More than 500,000 migrants crossed the Darien Gap in a record-breaking 2023. So far this year, more than 212,000 migrants have crossed.
The National Border Service reported that 11,363 migrants had crossed the border since Mulino took office, about 9,000 fewer than the same period last year.
A total of 1.82million migrants have crossed the Southern border, including 130,000 in June alone, according to US Customs and Border Protection statistics.