The US Coast Guard (USCG), along with US Customs & Border Protection (CBP), in recent days has stopped more than 260 migrants from reaching US shores in more than half a dozen separate encounters with human smugglers at sea. Two of the most significant encounters occurred within days of each other.
On August 29, 2025, the crew of the USCG Cutter Spencer intercepted a small boat overloaded with 191 Haitians. The Haitians were safely returned to their country by the Coast Guard, which has repatriated 603 Haitians found at sea so far this fiscal year.
A day later, CBP & Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Agents that were part of a multi-agency flotilla of law enforcement boats, awaiting the expected arrival of three smuggling boats from the Bahamas, intercepted them ten miles off Fort Pierce, Florida.
Thirty-five people, identified by authorities as Chinese and Bahamian citizens, were found aboard the vessels and were taken into custody. Another three Bahamians awaiting the arrival of the boats were arrested on shore. 168 kilograms of cocaine were found hidden throughout the vessels and were seized by US authorities.
The Coast Guard has also responded to many human smuggling attempts off the California coast in recent weeks. On September 2, 2025, a USCG helicopter crew requested a USCG Los Angeles boat crew to respond to a suspected smuggling boat near Church Rock, California.
A nearby Los Angeles County Lifeguard boat arrived alongside the vessel first, found the boat taking on water, and placed it under tow. The lifeguards then worked to stabilize it until the Coast Guard arrived on the scene to take custody of the 11 aliens who were aboard.
On August 28, 2025, the crew of the USCG Cutter Forrest Rednour decided to take a closer look at a 22-foot cabin cruiser they encountered near San Diego around dawn.
Their suspicions turned out to be well-founded. When they boarded the pleasure craft 3 miles west of Point Loma, California, they discovered ten adult and three minor illegal aliens aboard. One claimed to be from Guatemala, while all of the rest were Mexican. One of the adults was identified as the mother of the three children aboard the boat.
On August 30, 2025, the Coast Guard intercepted six illegal aliens aboard a 22-foot pleasure craft approximately 10 miles offshore Dana Point, California. Five of them claimed to be Mexican Citizens, while another said he was Guatemalan. They were turned over to the Department of Homeland Security.
Other recent human smuggling busts at sea off the California coast by the Coast Guard include the August 16, 2025, interdiction of seven Mexican illegal aliens aboard a 20-foot boat off Newport Beach, and the August 6, 2025, arrests of two aboard a jet-ski (!) 4.5 miles south of San Diego.
As I wrote at the top of this article, US Federal Authorities have had a busy couple of weeks chasing human smugglers off both US coasts in recent weeks.
How much impact do you think these enforcement efforts are having on human smuggling routes at sea?
Share your thoughts in the comments to this article!
Abrazos,
Jack Beavers
Jack, you always shock me with your articles. Thank you for your service to our country. You are awesome!
One question seldom asked: Why is the CCP so nonchalant about thousands and thousands of Chinese citizens "seeking asylum" in the USA? Especially working age men, which are in short supply back home?