MIAMI — Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Kodiak Island repatriated 15 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabañas, Cuba, Monday.
On April 3, watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla., received a report from a Customs and Border Protection aircraft stating they located a rustic vessel southwest of Key West with possible migrants aboard.
Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Confidence located the rustic vessel and safely embarked the migrants April 4.
Later, the migrants were transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Kodiak Island for repatriation.
“The U.S. government’s policy is to encourage safe, orderly and legal migration,” said Lt. Cmdr. William S. Gibson, Seventh Coast Guard District acting assistant chief of enforcement. “The U.S. Coast Guard’s role is to deter and respond to unsafe, and illegal maritime migration by intercepting these homemade rafts that pursue these perilous voyages. We continue to maintain a strong presence of cutters and aircraft in the Straits of Florida to respond to these illegal migrant activities.”
Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention.
The Coast Guard Cutter Confidence is a 210-foot medium endurance cutter, homeported in Port Canaveral, Fla.
The Coast Guard Cutter Kodiak Island is a 110-foot patrol boat, homeported in Key West, Fla.
The Kodiak Island and other Island-class patrol boats are being replaced by 58 new, Sentinel-class fast response cutters. The FRC is capable of speeds in excess of 28 knots and operating in seas up to 18-feet. The speed and stability of the FRC delivers tremendous lifesaving, law enforcement and homeland security capabilities in the same package.
For more information on how to legally immigrate to the U.S., call U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) at 1-800-375-5283 or visit the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov.