Those who persist in trying to bring drugs into our Nation through Florida have been met with the firm response. such as last year when the St. Petersburg based Coast Guard Cutter Point Countess intercepted the freighter Inge Frank near the Sunshine Skyway bridge at the entrance to Tampa Bay. escorted it to its mooring. and joined the DEA and Customs Service in a raid that seized more than 6.000 pounds of cocaine. preventing $272 million in illegal drugs from reaching our streets. Most recently. when our Nation was faced with an exodus of tens of thousands of Cuban and Haitian refugees. the Coast Guard responded. The 7th District rescued more than 23.000 Haitians at sea in unsafe vessels last Spring. and expanded its operations last Summer. pulling more than 35.000 Cubans from the waters of the Florida Straits. Aircraft from the Clearwater Air Station flew 3.200 flying hours In support of these missions. and delivered over 600 tons of cargo to the U.S. forces implementing our immigration policies on shore. It is the Coast Guard which is responsible for enforcing all United States laws at sea. whether they be immigration. narcotics. environmental. fishery. or safetyrelated. It is the Coast Guard which is responsible for its well known search and rescue missions at sea. This mission not only saves lives just about every day of the year. but also saves significant amount of public and private property.
Keywords matched
refugees immigration