The Tribune

THE United States Coast Guard repatriated 164 Haitian migrants after it intercepted a 40-foot ‘grossly overloaded’ sailing boat off Long Island.

The Seventh Coast Guard District were notified about the freighter which was southwest of Long Island and dispatched the Coast Guard cutter ‘Bear’.

When the Bear arrived, the crew safely took hold of the migrants and repatriated them to Cap Haitien, Haiti, just before the weekend.

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, migrants are given food, water, shelter and basic medical attention.

Cmdr Timothy Cronin, the district’s Assistant Branch Chief for Enforcement, said: “The patrol presence of our cutters in the Caribbean continues to prevent the potential loss of life that has occurred too many times when grossly overloaded vessels take to the sea in an attempt to illegally migrate to the United States.

“The Coast Guard will continue to rescue Haitian migrants from their peril at sea and will always do so in a professional manner that preserves the dignity of all people.”