Coast Guard Interdicts Migrants, Smuggler East of Boynton Beach

MIAMI — The
Coast Guard interdicted 14 Haitian migrants, a Dominican migrant and a
suspected smuggler on July 3 about 12 miles east of Boynton Beach, the Coast
Guard 7th District said in a release.

Coast Guard
7th District watchstanders received a report from the Palm Beach Sheriff’s
Office of a Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations aircraft
detecting an unlit 30-foot cabin cruiser heading towards West Palm Beach.

Watchstanders
launched a Coast Guard Station Lake Worth Inlet 33-foot Special Purpose Craft-Law
Enforcement crew and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Bernard C. Webber
(WPC-1101) crew. The cutter Webber crew safely embarked the six Haitian male
adults, three Haitian female adults, one Haitian male minor, four Haitian
female minors one Dominican male and one Bahamian male. The cutter Webber crew
transferred five Haitian adults and five Haitian minors to Bahamas authorities
and social services. The suspected smuggler, Dominican adult and four Haitian
adults were transferred into Homeland Security Investigations custody.

“The
Coast Guard maintains a focused and coordinated effort with multiple agency
assets to interdict any attempt to unlawfully immigrate to the United States by
sea,” said Lt. Matthew Pinhey, Coast Guard 7th District surface
operations. “Attempting to enter the country this way is not worth the risk and
we discourage people from try to embark on these dangerous voyages.”

A total of
3,027 Haitian migrants have attempted to illegally enter the U.S. via the
maritime environment in fiscal year 2019 compared to 2,727 Haitian migrants in
fiscal year 2018. A total of 1,456 Dominican migrants have attempted to
illegally enter the U.S. via the maritime environment in fiscal year 2019
compared to 829 Dominican migrants in fiscal year 2018. These numbers represent
the total number of at-sea interdictions, landings and disruptions in the
Florida Straits, the Caribbean and the Atlantic.