It comes after the Trump administration fired Coast Guard commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the armed forces' first female service chief who had served since 2022.

The effort is meant to “to deter and prevent a maritime mass migration from Haiti and/or Cuba,” according to a statement.

The Coast Guard has announced it will be sending “aircraft, boats and deployable specialized forces” to the “Gulf of America” in an effort to curb illegal immigration and the flow of drugs. The move comes following President Donald Trump’s executive order that changed the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.