According to official reports, the United States Border Patrol on Thursday apprehended 23 Cuban rafters who arrived in Islamorada, Florida.
Miami Sector Chief Agent Walter N. Slosser tweeted: “ISLAMORADA, FL: This morning, US Border Patrol agents responding to migrant arrivals in the Florida Keys met 23 rafters from Cuba.”
Likewise, he specified that he was being held in federal custody and would be processed for deportation to Cuba.
The US Coast Guard reported on May 17 that its crews repatriated and transferred 169 people to Cuba and the Bahamas between Friday and Tuesday, reiterating that “the maritime borders with the United States are open to irregular and illegal migration”. are closed”.
“Our maritime borders are closed,” Captain Benjamin Golightly announced. “It is important that family and friends share this with their loved ones in Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas and the Dominican Republic.”
He also said that the rafters would be “detained and then sent back to their country of origin or where they had migrated.”
“Illegal entry or attempting to reach the US by sea will be a disqualification for the humanitarian parole process for Cuba and Haiti,” he added.
Cuban migrants and humanitarian parole
As the Coast Guard notes, “Since October 1, 2022, crews have detained or located 6,679 Cuban and 4,473 Haitian immigrants.”
Last weekend, the United States government, through that country’s embassy in Havana, announced a new policy against Cuban and Haitian rafters.
“Migrants intercepted at sea after April 27, 2023, will be indefinitely disqualified from the humanitarian parole procedures for Cubans and Haitians announced in January,” he added.
