TAMPA, Fla. – The U.S. military and Department of Homeland Security have enacted Operation Vigilant Sentry in the Florida Straits as more than 230,000 Cuban migrants and 42,000 Haitian migrants have attempted to make it into the U.S. this year.
“To put things in perspective, we saw about 125,000 Cuban migrants during the Mariel Boatlift mass-migration in 1980 when Castro emptied the jails,” said James Judge, the Republican nominee for Florida’s 14th Congressional District and a former spokesman for the Coast Guard. “These numbers are absolutely unprecedented, and the fact that DHS and the U.S. military have enacted a last resort emergency plan, which has been rehearsed for decades, demonstrates the seriousness of the situation.”
Operation Vigilant Sentry is the name of the emergency operation plan, which involves the Coast Guard, Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, Health and Human Services, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection, and numerous other federal, state and local agencies.
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“The immigration problem has spiraled out of control to the point that as we speak, the U.S. military is mobilizing ships and aircraft down to the Florida Straits, while the Biden administration is lying to the public saying – there’s nothing to see here folks, our border is secure,” Judge said.
According to HSTF-SE, the military and government agencies are significantly ramping up patrols, including enforcement by land, air and sea, day and night. According to HSTF-SE, the primary mission is to prevent loss of life at sea and to deter and dissuade maritime migration.
“What’s most shocking is that the U.S. military is literally conducting a massive operation just a few miles south of Margaritaville and Sloppy Joes, and no one is talking about it on any of the major news outlets,” Judge said. “This is a direct result of failed leadership and failed foreign policies, or complete lack thereof, by the Biden administration.”
Under OVS, the mission of the military is to interdict and repatriate migrants who are caught attempting to illegally enter the United States.
The Cuban immigration crisis is only part of it. According to recent reports, the Coast Guard has seen Haitian migrant interdictions increase 400 percent.
“Tragically, because this administration has allowed the immigration situation to get so far out of hand, they’ve essentially pronounced to the world that our borders are wide open for entry, and countless women and children will die attempting to make the treacherous journey,” said Judge.
In 2003, the DHS established HSTF-SE for the purpose of responding to maritime migration events in the Caribbean. The Task Force provides the organizational framework to detect maritime migration indicators, monitor maritime migration trends, and conduct joint training, exercises, and planning.
Members of the Task Force include the U.S. Coast Guard, the Departments of Defense, State, Justice, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Secret Service, and state and local agencies including representatives from FDEM, FDLE, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.
HSTF-SE represents an all-of-government approach. CBP-AMO officers, embarked on aircraft and boats, work alongside Coast Guard units to detect and interdict illegal maritime migrant ventures. CBP-OFO officers and USBP agents coordinate efforts with maritime branches to detect and interdict migrants who land on Florida beaches and U.S. islands and territories in the Caribbean. HSI special agents specifically target individuals who are involved in human smuggling events and investigate the transnational criminal organizations that profit from these illegal activities. U.S. Public Health Service officers from the ICE Health Service Corps Special Operations Unit work with the Coast Guard and provide medical care to migrants on board Coast Guard vessels and treat any immediate needs.
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