A.G. Gancarski
A radical change to border policy comes as Donald Trump settles into the White House.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that it would support Florida and other maritime states and territories in repelling an influx of foreign nationals.
Assets will be sent to the “southeast U.S. border approaching Florida to deter and prevent a maritime mass migration from Haiti and/or Cuba” and the “maritime border between the Bahamas and South Florida.”
“The U.S. Coast Guard is the world’s premier maritime law enforcement agency, vital to protecting America’s maritime borders, territorial integrity, and sovereignty,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guard’s acting commandant. “Per the President’s Executive Orders, I have directed my operational commanders to immediately surge assets — cutters, aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces — to increase Coast Guard presence and focus.”
Cuba notably conducted war games with Russian ships, which the Joe Biden Pentagon dismissed as “no threat.”
Meanwhile, the migrant influx from Haiti has been Florida’s burden to shoulder largely alone.
“For quite some time, the State of Florida has been dedicating significant resources to combat illegal vessels coming to Florida from countries such as Haiti,” DeSantis said as he announced in March, “250 additional officers and soldiers and over a dozen air and sea craft to the southern coast of Florida” for the state’s Operation Vigilant Sentry.
That followed a deployment early last year.
“As the negative impacts of Biden’s lawless immigration policies continue unabated, the burden of the Biden administration’s failure falls on local law enforcement who lack the resources to deal with the crisis. That is why I am activating the National Guard and directing state resources to help alleviate the strain on local resources. When Biden continues to ignore his legal responsibilities, we will step in to support our communities,” DeSantis said in January.
