Migrant surge continues in Florida Keys. More than 50 land over last four days
The surge of migrants braving the sea for a shot at freedom in South Florida continues, with 56 people landing in the Florida Keys alone over the last four days.
Three groups of Cuban migrants — 15 total — were detained in the Keys in less than 24 hours, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Division Chief Adam Hoffner said Sunday night in an email.
Eight Cubans, including two accompanied minors, were taken into federal custody on Saturday after U.S. Border Patrol agents responded to a maritime smuggling event making landfall at about 10:45 p.m. in Key West, he said.
On Sunday, two Cuban adults were taken into federal custody by Border Patrol agents responding to a maritime smuggling event that made landfall at 6 a.m. near Layton, a town in Long Key, he said.
Hours later, at around 5 p.m., five Cuban migrants were detained by Border Patrol agents after making landfall in the Marquesas Keys, a chain of uninhabited mangrove islands about 25 miles west of Key West, Hoffner said. The U.S. Coast Guard assisted in transferring the five Cuban migrants to shore, where they were taken into federal custody, he said.
There were no injuries reported, he said.
Since the beginning of March, more than 10 migrant groups have been detained in the Keys, Customs’ Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar announced in a tweet Sunday afternoon.
On Thursday, 16 Cubans, including two accompanied children, arrived in a small commercial fishing boat off Summerland Key, about 17 miles north of Key West in the Lower Keys.
A day later, seven men and three women arrived just offshore of Long Key State Park in a 12-foot homemade boat propelled by a 2.5-horsepower outboard engine.
On Saturday, Border Patrol agents detained 15 Cuban migrants, including an unaccompanied minor, who made landfall in Lois Key, the uninhabited island east of Key West, Hoffner said.
And far from the Keys, the Coast Guard detained 189 Haitians in an overloaded sail freighter on Saturday amid bad weather about 20 miles off Cape du Môle, Haiti.
This story was originally published March 20, 2022 at 3:23 PM.
