The captain of a vessel that was overloaded and capsized in New York Harbor, killing a mom and her baby, was an illegal alien who now has been arrested and ultimately faces deportation.
That’s according to the Department of Homeland Security, which issued a statement about Manuel Hernandez, from El Salvador, who was “illegally piloting a boat when he capsized the overloaded vessel…”
“Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of @ICEgov, this criminal is off our streets and out of our waterways – and he will be DEPORTED after he faces justice.”
This illegal alien KILLED a 27-year-old MOTHER and her BABY.
Manuel Hernandez, from El Salvador, was illegally piloting a boat when he capsized the overloaded vessel in New York Harbor.
Thanks to the hard work of the men and women of @ICEgov, this criminal is off our streets… https://t.co/zxRX3SAL3l pic.twitter.com/ydBazpYwsZ
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) August 19, 2026
Reporter Nick Sorter noted Hernandez held “NO license, nor ANY basic boating knowledge, and the boat was over capacity. A mom and her baby were killed after a dozen people went overboard due to capsizing.”
🚨 JUST IN: The captain of the tour boat involved in a deadly NYC crash is an ILLEGAL ALIEN, per @AlexisMcAdamsTV
MORE innocent Americans dead at the hands of illegals. ICE needs to SURGE into NYC ASAP, and the tour boat owner should be ARRESTED
The captain, Manuel Hernandez,… pic.twitter.com/DEU3V63ccd
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 20, 2026
NEW: The captain accused of operating an illegal charter boat that capsized in New York Harbor, killing a 27-year-old mother and her baby, is an illegal immigrant and is now in custody.
Authorities say Manuel Ernesto Hernandez-Umana does not have a captain’s license and is… pic.twitter.com/zaSgnilyLH
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 20, 2026
A report at Patriot.TV delivered the shocking news: “A five-month-old girl went into New York Harbor without a life jacket. Her mother went in holding her. Both came out dead. The man at the wheel had no captain’s license, too many bodies on a 21-foot boat, and no legal right to stand on American soil.”
The victims of the Hernandez scheme were identified as Sara Sanchez, 27, of College Point, Queens, and her infant daughter Antonella Garcia.
The fact that the “captain” is an illegal alien, the report said, “is the whole story.”
He came into the U.S. by telling Customs and Border Protection he was a U.S. citizen, even though he wasn’t.
“He drove limousines. He worked for a tour outfit. Then he started running unlicensed harbor trips, including on a friend’s boat he had not registered and was not certified to operate with paying customers. That is what sanctuary culture produces. A man who commits fraud at the border gets a job, a boat, and a night on the water with a baby in his care. No Coast Guard ticket. No infant flotation devices on board. According to the complaint, he told passengers they did not even need life jackets,” the report charged.
He’s now charged with misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death. He is accused of taking 14 passengers on a boat that could handle only 10, and ending up in tragedy.
