SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Members of the news media got a first-hand look at how U.S. Coast Guard personnel are stopping vessels suspected of transporting migrants.
It took place during a simulation involving one boat chasing another on San Diego Bay.
Inclement weather and low visibility kept the event from happening on the Pacific Ocean as planned.
The officers involved tried to make the interdiction as realistic as possible as they tried to get the boat to yield with sirens and flashing lights.
When that didn’t work, they fired pepper balls at a dummy named “Oscar” who was the make believe driver of the boat transporting a group of migrants.
As Oscar finally slowed down, officers drew their guns and secured the “non-compliant boat.”
“We’ve essentially tripled the amount of Coast Guard assets on the southern border,” said Peter Nelson, Officer in Charge of Coast Guard Station San Diego. “This has happened in the last two months.”
According to figures provided by the U.S. Coast Guard, the number of stops made on vessels carrying unlawful migrants has remained steady. Statistics show that for the current fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2024, there have been 260 to date.
For fiscal year 2024, there were 561. The year before there were 703.
“It’s been pretty consistent over the last few years,” Nelson said. “The one thing that has changed is the amount of boats and aircraft in the area to help detect and in the interdiction of folks coming across.”
Nelson said the Coast Guard is one of several federal agencies working to prevent migrant smuggling on the water.
“We have additional helicopters and fix-wing aircraft as well as working with partner agencies such as Customs and Border Protection that is flying more flights giving us air cover,” he said. “The U.S. Navy has a vessel that has a Coast Guard law enforcement team on board right now helping us secure the border as well.”
According to Nelson, it helps to have fast-moving boats that are hard to outrun.
“We can reach speeds of up to 50 miles an hour depending on the type of boat we’re chasing, stuff from pangas to recreational vessels to jet skis.”
Nelson also stated most interdictions are peaceful although at times smugglers and the people driving the boats don’t give up easily.
“There have been times when they are very aggressive, they have taken actions to harm members of my crew, they throw wrenches, tools at us, and they use their vessels to ram our boats as well.”
Nelson also said one of their main goals is the safety of the migrants who often get into boats that aren’t seaworthy late at night in turbulent ocean conditions.
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