U.S. Coast Guard Busts an Illegal Alien Working on a Shrimp Boat

 

On Friday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard detained an illegal alien who was working as a crewmember on an American fishing vessel, along with the vessel's master. 

During an inspection at Port Isabel, Texas, a Coast Guard Station South Padre Island boat crew boarded the boat Los Nietos, a 78-foot shrimp boat built in 1978. The boarding team determined that one crewmember was a Mexican citizen who was working in the United States illegally. 

In addition, they found that the master of the fishing vessel had an outstanding warrant for felony weapons charges. The alien was transferred to U.S. Border Patrol for processing, and the captain was booked into the South Padre Island Jail.

“The Coast Guard remains steadfast in its commitment to ensuring the security of our nation. The at-sea apprehension of an alien illegally present in the U.S. and a vessel’s captain with an active arrest warrant, underscores the critical role we play in both immigration enforcement and national security.” said Lt. Cmdr. Nina Mcdonald, Enforcement Division Chief at USCG Sector Corpus Christi. “Alongside our partners, the Coast Guard will continue to uphold the rule of law and disrupt illicit activity along our nation’s maritime border."

Under the Trump administration, the Coast Guard has a new emphasis on border enforcement. With direction from its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, it has surged maritime assets to the southern approaches to the United States, and has retasked some of its HC-130J search and rescue aircraft for deportee transport flights.