The Coast Guard intercepted more than 300 migrants en route to the United States and repatriated them.
More than 300 migrants trying to reach the United States by sea were intercepted last week and returned to Haiti and the Bahamas, the US Coast Guard announced Monday.
The migrants were apprehended by Coast Guard patrol vessels in separate incidents and returned home last week as part of Operation Vigilant Sentry, conducted in conjunction with Homeland Security officials, according to the agency.
“The OVS maritime border security mission is often a mix of law enforcement operation and humanitarian response, particularly as hurricane season approaches and maritime weather conditions become more severe. severe and unpredictable,” Coast Guard officer Lt. Nick Fujimoto said in a statement.
“The coast guard urges potential migrants not to go to sea and risk their lives only to be returned,” Fujimoto added.
Authorities said 196 migrants were intercepted Wednesday and Thursday in northern Haiti in overloaded boats and returned to their countries of origin Monday, according to a news release.
Coast Guard patrol vessels Raymond Evans and Richard Etheridge handed over 109 migrants to the Royal Bahamas Defense Force on Sunday after intercepting them near Anguilla Cay, authorities said.
The Coast Guard regularly patrols off the U.S. coast to intercept groups of migrants trying to reach the coast, and those caught are usually fed and cared for until they can be repatriated.
