Both immigration and Mexico itself were perceived as relatively small threats compared to more pressing concerns like cyberterrorism, Russia and China.
While debate rages over an ongoing deployment of U.S. troops to the international border with Mexico on the eve of America’s midterm elections, the Coast Guard quietly continues to interdict attempts by Caribbean smugglers to sneak undocumented migrants into the country from the sea.
Coast Guard officials said that the cutter Heriberto Hernandez transferred a dozen Dominicans and two Haitians to a Dominican navy vessel on Sunday, three days after they were interdicted in a cramped boat near Puerto Rico’s Mona Island.
While the active duty members themselves are protected — because in order to enlist a service member has to show proof that they are in the country legally — their undocumented spouses are not.