18 Cuban migrants on a fishing boat made it to the Florida Keys, U.S. Border Patrol says
Eighteen Cuban migrants made landfall in the Florida Keys on Thursday afternoon on a fishing boat, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. The day before, 21 Haitian migrants were taken into custody after making landfall in Miami-Dade County.
Border Patrol agents and Keys law enforcement officers found 15 men and three women on Sugarloaf Key at about 2:30 p.m. They were taken into custody. The fishing boat’s name is NiuRalma.
“We appreciate the ongoing support from our law enforcement partners in Monroe County,” said Adam Hoffner, a Border Patrol spokesman.
This is the second reported arrival of Cuban migrants in the Keys in two days. At-sea attempts have increased sharply this year.
Earlier this week, the Coast Guard reported its crews have stopped 210 Cubans since Oct. 1, when the new fiscal year began.
Maritime migration numbers spiked in fiscal year 2021, which started Oct. 1, 2020, and ended Sept. 30, with the Coast Guard reporting having stopped 838 Cuban migrants. A year earlier, the agency said it caught 49.
On Tuesday, five people made it to the Southernmost Point buoy marker in Key West on a homemade raft. On Oct. 17, 20 Cubans landed at Grassy Key in the Middle Keys.
On Oct. 10, 17 Cubans arrived in Key West near Smathers Beach. A local man videotaped them wading in the ocean toward the seawall, where police officers and others waited to pull each one up to safety.
Haitian migrants found in South Florida
On Wednesday morning, Border Patrol agents and other agencies responded to a report in Sunny Isles Beach, according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman.
“After an extensive search of the area, Border Patrol agents arrested 21 Haitian migrants,” spokesman Robert Brisley said in an email. “The migrants will be interviewed and processed for removal proceedings.”
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating.
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