FILE — The U.S. Coast Guard says it is deploying assets around maritime borders. (U.S. Coast Guard)
The U.S. Coast Guard says it is deploying assets around maritime borders in support of President Donald Trump’s executive orders.
According to the agency, it will work to detect and deter illegal migration among other objectives in support of Trump’s orders issued this week.
“I have directed my operational commanders to immediately surge assets to increase Coast Guard presence and focus [in] key areas,” Coast Guard Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said.
Some of the key maritime locations mentioned included the southeast U.S. border approaching Florida to prevent mass migration from Haiti or Cuba and the maritime border around Alaska and Hawaii.
Lunday continued, saying specialized forces would also increase their presence on the “maritime border between Texas and Mexico in the Gulf of America” while supporting U.S. Customs and Border Protection on maritime portions of the southwest U.S. border.
“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,” Lunday said.
The Coast Guard said it would also be targeting the maritime border between the Bahamas and South Florida, and between the U.S. and Mexico in the Pacific Ocean.
On Monday, Trump said in his inaugural address that he would change the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the “Gulf of America.”
“A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,” the president was quoted as saying about the situation. “America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth.”
The Coast Guard’s announcement of deploying more assets regarding maritime security came a day after Trump dismissed U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Lee Fagan.