“The U.S. Coast Guard is the world’s premiere
maritime law enforcement agency, vital to protecting America’s maritime
borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, who
was named the Coast Guard’s acting commandant following former commandant Adm. Lisa M. Fagan’s being relieved
of command. “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 starting with the following key areas:
·
The southeast U.S.
border approaching Florida to deter and prevent a maritime mass migration from
Haiti and/or Cuba;
·
The maritime border
around Alaska, Hawaii, the U.S. territories of Guam, the Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands;
·
The maritime border
between the Bahamas and south Florida;
·
The southwest maritime
border between the U.S. and Mexico in the Pacific;
·
The maritime border
between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America; and
·
Support to Customs and
Border Protection on maritime portions of the southwest U.S. border.
“Together, in coordination with our Department of Homeland Security and
Department of Defense teammates, we will detect, deter and interdict illegal
migration, drug smuggling and other terrorist or hostile activity before it
reaches our border.”