Fixed-wing aircraft from the US Coast Guard (USCG) normally used for supporting maritime patrol and search and rescue missions have been re-tasked to support the deportation of migrants living in the USA unlawfully.
The initiative is a personal focus of newly installed President Donald Trump, who promised an extensive deportation effort when running to reclaim the White House.
After the four-star admiral in charge of the USCG was removed from her post the day after Trump was sworn-in, the service’s new commandant promised a rapid deployment of assets to maritime border areas around the country in support of the deportation effort.
However, one week later that mission appears to have grown beyond the service’s usual mission of interdicting smugglers and migrants at sea. The Coast Guard now says it has conducted multiple ferry flights with its fixed-wing aircraft, transporting detained migrants to processing centres for deportation by US immigration authorities.
“The Coast Guard’s current role is to assist with the national transport of aliens to designated locations in Texas and California, where the Department of Defense will transport the aliens internationally,” the service said on 28 January.
A similar announcement was made three days earlier on 25 January. The service says it has pulled assets from Coast Guard Air Stations in New Jersey, Alaska, Hawaii and two sites in California to support the operation.
“In accordance with the president’s executive orders, the Coast Guard continues to surge assets and leverage its unique capabilities to protect America’s borders, territorial integrity and sovereignty,” acting commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday said on 25 January.
“We are detecting, deterring and interdicting aliens, drug smuggling and other terrorist or hostile activity before it reaches our border,” he adds.
While the USCG did not specify which aircraft have been assigned to support the transfer of migrants, both announcements included photos of the service’s distinctive orange-and-white Lockheed Martin HC-130J transports.
One photo from 25 January shows some two dozen people strapped into troop seats in the rear cargo area of an HC-130J assigned to Elizabeth City, New Jersey.
The USCG maintains a relatively small fleet of just 17 HC-130Js, according to data from aviation analytics company Cirium. These are supplemented by 14 Leonardo HC-27Js and 18 Airbus HC-144s (a derivative of Airbus Defence & Space’s CN235 high-wing transport).
Together, the mixed fleet of patrol aircraft are responsible for supporting Coast Guard operations along some 94,000 miles (153,000km) of coastline, including critical search flights for the service’s limited fleet of shorter-range Airbus MH-65 and Sikorsky MH-60T rescue helicopters.
The Coast Guard has not disclosed how many of its aircraft have been reassigned from normal duty to support deportation efforts. Personnel transport is listed by the Coast Guard as a secondary mission for the HC-130J fleet.
Separate flights, including sorties by active duty US Air Force transports, have been used to move deportees outside of US territory. A Pentagon official confirmed on 22 January that Boeing C-17s and Lockheed C-130s had been earmarked for such operations.
Some 5,000 undocumented migrants were already being held for deportation at the start of the operation, according to government officials. Immigration officers have made subsequent arrests throughout the country.
