MIAMI, United States. – US Coast Guard announced this Tuesday a reinforced operation at key points on the southeastern border, including the Florida Strait, to contain the entry of irregular migrants by sea.
The measure responds to the executive orders on immigration that the president donald trump signed on Monday after his inauguration.
“Per the President’s Executive Orders, I have directed my operational commanders to immediately increase assets (cutters, aircraft, ships and deployable specialized forces) to increase Coast Guard presence and focus,” stated Admiral Kevin Lunday, acting commander of the Coast Guard, who specified that the operations will focus mainly on the maritime area between the Bahamas and southern Florida “to deter and prevent massive maritime migration from Haiti and/or Cuba.”
Lunday added that they will work together with other federal agencies: “Together, in coordination with our colleagues at the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, we will detect, deter and intercept illegal migration, drug smuggling and other terrorist or hostile activities before that they reach our border.”
On Tuesday, the White House specified that the orders signed by Trump include the immediate closure of the southern border, the implementation of the Migrant Protection Protocol – known as “Stay in Mexico” – and the elimination of the CBP One and parole humanitarian. In addition, the president announced the end of birthright citizenship in the United States.
During the previous administration of Joe Biden, hundreds of Cubans who tried to enter the United States by sea were returned to the Island. With the recent executive provisions and the deployment of new maritime operations, the authorities seek to avoid a possible increase in irregular migration in the Straits of Florida and surrounding areas.
Numerous groups of Cubans try to cross the Straits of Florida to escape the harsh conditions of life on the Island. In the midst of a context of shortages of food, medical supplies and a serious inflationary crisis, many residents of the largest of the Antilles risk their lives to reach the North American country.
Despite the current immigration crisis, due to which almost half a million Cubans have entered the United States in the last three years, the parole humanitarian program launched by the Biden Administration in January 2023 contributed to reducing the flow of rafters.
