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MIAMI, Sept. 27 – The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 182 Haitian migrants on Friday after intercepting a makeshift vessel south of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The operation, part of ongoing efforts to curb unauthorized maritime migration in the Caribbean, comes amid heightened security patrols in the region.
The migrants were found aboard an overloaded vessel following a tip-off from a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations aircraft on Sunday. The Coast Guard’s Seventh District immediately deployed the Cutter William Trump to intercept the vessel, preventing a potentially dangerous journey.
Lt. Thomas Pease, an enforcement officer with the Coast Guard’s Seventh District, reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to monitoring key maritime routes despite weather challenges like Hurricane Helene. “The Coast Guard and our partners will continue to monitor the Windward Passage, Mona Passage, and the Florida Straits. Don’t take to the sea,” Pease said, warning against unsafe migration attempts.
This latest repatriation brings the total number of Haitian migrants returned by the Coast Guard since October 2023 to 857. The migrants intercepted at sea are processed aboard Coast Guard vessels where they are identified and given basic necessities such as food, water, and medical care before being repatriated.
The Coast Guard operates as part of Homeland Security Task Force – Southeast (HSTF-SE) under Operation Vigilant Sentry, which focuses on preventing unlawful maritime entry to the United States. The initiative combines air, land, and sea patrols to monitor high-risk zones like the Florida Straits and the Caribbean Sea, aiming to protect lives at sea while ensuring compliance with U.S. immigration laws.
Officials have stressed that those attempting unlawful migration by sea will be intercepted and returned to their country of origin. The multi-layered approach, they say, is designed to ensure the safety of migrants while enforcing U.S. border security.
