MISSION, Texas (Border Report) — The U.S. Coast Guard boats lined up side by side alongside a small pier in the Rio Grande on Tuesday morning as part of a new border security initiative started in South Texas.
In the span of an hour, Border Report counted seven boats, which also included some U.S. Border Patrol vessels.
The surge in boats occurred a day after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced that 100 Coast Guard boats and hundreds of personnel would now patrol the Rio Grande in the Rio Grande Valley as part of Operation River Wall.
Operation River Wall will be conducted on 260 miles in the Rio Grande Valley. It is funded by monies given to the Coast Guard as part of the Big Beautiful Bill, and will target human smuggling and drugs coming across the river from Mexico.
In this latest episode of Border Report Live, South Texas correspondent Sandra Sanchez, the only journalist to capture these early images of Operation River Wall on the Rio Grande, discusses how Noem is elevating the profile of the Coast Guard.
“The men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard are experts at defending America’s maritime borders — they have been doing that with honor, respect and devotion to duty since 1790. Now, Coast Guard Forces Rio Grande and Operation River Wall will be a force multiplier in defending against illegal immigration,” Noem said in a statement Monday.
The Coast Guard received over $25 billion for Fiscal Year 2026 — that’s the biggest budget this agency has ever had.
“The U.S. Coast is the best in the world at tactical boat operations and maritime interdiction at sea, along coasts, and in riverine environments,” Coast Guard Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said. “Through Operation River Wall, the Coast Guard is controlling the U.S. southern border in the Rio Grande River.
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