If someone flies into the US they are required to go through Customs & Immigration control at the airport, and there is no practical way of getting around it, but what happens if someone brings a boat into one of the countless small boat harbors?
The local harbor master can’t check every boat that comes in to dock 24 hours a day. Someone could just step off their boat and walk into the US without anyone knowing. Or am I missing something?
Being unobserved around the ports is harder than you might think.
Neighborhood watch ring a bell.
Staying here if you are not local, you would need money, a grasp of the language, ID , etc…
Go into a hotel with no English, American money, ID…
Sure it can be done but it is expensive as you need a boat that can come and go as it pleases, need American numbers on it, or needs to be a local boat that the locals will not comment on.
And on & on.
Lots of pro & con about this but if it was that easy, why do folks risk their lives to sneak across on land. Grab a small boat & go 10 miles up the coast and walk away free. No coyotes needed.
Might no be as easy as you think.
YMMV
Sailing into even a small harbour runs the risks of being observed by the target countries maritime authorities. Sail into some small unpopulated part of the coast away from the major shipping lines would more or less guarantee your a successful entry, but has its own major risks. You are away from shipping routes and thus more or less on your own if in trouble. Might land in a desolate place far from civilisation etc etec.