Federal authorities said they were forced to fire at a boat packed with 25 illegal migrants from China who were hoping to reach the shores of Florida, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The Coast Guard caught the group about a mile south of Key Biscayne, Florida on June 10, DHS said. The migrants initially failed to comply with federal authorities’ orders to stop, forcing the Coast Guard to deploy warning shots, which were ineffective.
The Coast Guardsmen then fired a “disabling” shot that stopped the boat without any reported injuries, according to DHS.
“By land or sea, our borders are CLOSED,” DHS said in an X post regarding the interception. “This sends a clear message to ANY illegal alien attempting to enter the United States: don’t even think about it.”
The Coast Guard crew transported the group of Chinese nationals for further processing. Authorities also seized their boat and transported it to the Coast Guard station in Miami Beach.
“Our Coast Guard crews, working closely with our local, state, and federal maritime law enforcement partners, remain vigilant in detecting and deterring unlawful maritime migration ventures,” Lieutenant Matthew Ross, commanding officer, Coast Guard Station Miami Beach, said.
“Anyone considering one of these dangerous voyages should understand that they are risking their lives at sea and can expect to be interdicted and repatriated,” Ross said.
The encounter follows an incident off the coast of San Diego, where the Coast Guard caught a group of 17 suspected illegal immigrant trying to reach the United States by boat. Coast Guard airmen spotted the vessel at around 1:18 a.m. on Sunday southwest of Point Loma.
A boat crew then responded and boarded the boat, where they found 10 claiming Mexican nationals, four claiming Guatemalan nationals, and two claiming Salvadoran nationals, along with one unaccompanied minor claiming Guatemalan.
The Coast Guard brought the migrants aboard one of their boats before handing them over to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
On June 7, the Coast Guard interdicted nine Mexican illegal immigrants near Coronado Island, California. The group was transferred to the custody of Border Patrol.
Coast Guard Capt. Jason Hagen, who is the southwest district chief of enforcement, told The Daily Wire in November that authorities were observing an uptick in smuggling interdictions.
“As you lock down the land border, the cartels will need to make their money, so they push to the maritime, to the water side. And, unfortunately, there is no border wall in the ocean; we’re challenged with the tyranny of distance,” Hagen said at the time.
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