The USS Gravely, a U.S. Navy destroyer that was recently deployed in the Middle East to intercept missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist organization, was deployed on Saturday to the southern border as part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration and illegal drug smuggling operations.
In a Saturday press release, U.S. Northern Command confirmed that the USS Gravely, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, had left Naval Weapons Station Yorktown for a deployment in both U.S. and international waters under U.S. Northern Command.
“USS Gravely’s deployment will contribute to the U.S. Northern Command southern border mission as part of the DOD’s coordinated effort in response to the Presidential Executive Order,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command, said. “Gravely’s sea-going capacity improves our ability to protect the United States’ territorial integrity, sovereignty, and security.”
According to a Department of Defense press release, Air Force Lt. Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, joint staff director of operations, said the USS Gravely will be deployed to the Gulf of America and will help intercept drug smugglers by working “very closely with the U.S. Coast Guard’s drug interdiction mission.”
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U.S. Northern Command explained that the deployment of the U.S. Navy destroyer “highlights the Department of Defense and Navy’s dedication to national security priorities, contributing to a coordinated and robust response to combating maritime related terrorism, weapons proliferation, transnational crime, piracy, environmental destruction, and illegal seaborne immigration.”
In the Department of Defense press release, Guilliot said the deployment of the USS Gravely is an “important step in the whole-of-government efforts to seal the southern border and maintain U.S. sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
A picture of the USS Gravely was shared Saturday on X, formerly Twitter, by U.S. Northern Command. “The USS Gravely is en route to support our #southernborder security mission,” U.S. Northern Command tweeted.
Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, told reporters on Monday that it was not only “vital” for the United States to exercise control of the southern border “via land,” but it is “equally important to control our territorial waters, and this deployment directly supports U.S. Northern Command’s mission to protect our sovereignty.”
A U.S. Coast Guard captain previously told Fox News that there had been roughly 200 encounters with migrant boats near the coast of San Diego, California, over a 90-day period.
Addressing the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, Coast Guard District 11 Capt. Jason Hagen said, “They’re locking down the land border pretty good… where they used to get thousands a day. Now, they’re now down in the hundreds a day. So, the migrants have to go somewhere. The smugglers have to move their operations somewhere. And we’re starting to see an uptick in the maritime environment.”
