The U.S. Coast Guard said it intercepted an overcrowded migrant vessel carrying 240 people about 15 miles south of the Turks and Caicos Islands after receiving a report of an “unlawful migrant voyage.”
The Coast Guard said the operation Sunday was conducted jointly with U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations and the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. Video released by the Coast Guard shows crews assisting local authorities as they secured and towed the vessel, which the agency said was taking on water and whose passengers claimed Haitian nationality. The Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force later took custody of the boat and its passengers, the Coast Guard said.
More than 140 personnel participated in the operation, the Coast Guard said. Lt. Chelsea Garcia, deputy director of Coast Guard Operations Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, said the interdiction and removal of the migrants “from a perilous situation” was made possible by close collaboration and swift response.
“We strongly advise anyone considering participating in an unlawful maritime migration attempt to reconsider,” Garcia said. She warned such journeys often involve “severely overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels that are often taking on water and lack basic life-saving equipment,” and urged would-be migrants to pursue “safe, legal, and orderly avenues.”
The Department of Homeland Security posted on X, “OUR BORDERS ARE CLOSED,” reacting to footage of the operation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott posted images of the interdiction on X and said the overcrowded vessel “was taking on water and in danger of sinking,” adding that personnel helped prevent “what could have been a catastrophic loss of life while stopping yet another illegal migration attempt,” according to his post.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
