The Coast Guard is the last line of defense for the country’s coasts.
Business is picking up under the Trump administration.
And Coast Guard officials intercepted one scary boat that put Donald Trump on red alert.
Coast Guard stops ship with illegal aliens from Haiti and takes them home
The southern border commands the lion’s share of the attention for illegal immigration.
But Florida, with its more than 8,000 miles of coastline, is vulnerable to illegal immigration coming from the ocean.
A Coast Guard cutter stopped a 30-foot sailboat that was “overloaded” with potential illegal aliens from Haiti trying to make their way to Florida.
The sailboat carrying 132 Haitians was interdicted roughly 50 miles from the coast off of Marathon, Florida, in the Florida Keys.
Coast Guard officials turned the ship around and escorted it back to Haiti.
“The Coast Guard will continue to prioritize strengthening our domestic integrity and disrupting attempts to enter the United States illegally by sea,” Coast Guard District Seven enforcement officer Lieutenant Zane Carter said. “We are steadfast in our mission to safeguard America by securing our maritime borders.”
A Coast Guard HC-144 plane spotted the sailboat and radioed the cutter to intercept it.
The sailboat was boarded, and the Haitians’ identity was determined by Coast Guard officials before they were sent back home.
Coast Guard ships have returned more than 300 Haitians who have tried to enter Florida illegally since October 1 last year.
“Anyone attempting to enter the United States illegally by sea will be interdicted and repatriated, consistent with U.S. law and policy,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
Fears of a mass migration event from Haiti have been on the rise since the country’s government collapsed after heavily armed gangs took control of the capital of Port-au-Prince.
Coast Guard assists in the deportation of illegal aliens
The Coast Guard has been supporting President Donald Trump’s effort to deport illegal aliens en masse.
Coast Guard C-130 Hercules transport planes are participating in alien expulsion flights between California and Texas carrying illegal aliens.
“Through these ongoing operations the Coast Guard is detecting, deterring, and interdicting aliens, drug smugglers, and individuals intent on terrorism or other hostile activity before they reach the border,” the Coast Guard said in a press release. “The Coast Guard’s current role is to assist with the national transport of aliens to designated locations in Texas and California, where the Department of Defense will transport the aliens internationally.”
Trump fired former Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan in part for not taking maritime security seriously after he took office.
The President ordered Coast Guard assets to surge to Florida to defend the state from illegal aliens trying to arrive by boat from Haiti and Cuba.
Local law enforcement was overwhelmed by the number of Cubans arriving by boat in January 2023 at the Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys under former President Joe Biden.
Donald Trump is making sure that the coasts are protected from illegal immigration coming from the sea.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.
