The United States Coast Guard sent back to Cuba on Thursday 177 Cuban migrants who were detained at sea off the coast of Florida, while around twenty Haitians swam to Miami.
The Cuban migrants were intercepted in different operations off the coast a few days ago, according to a Coast Guard press release. They were repatriated on two Coast Guard ships.
In addition, 25 Haitians who had traveled by sailboat from Port-de-Paix, Haiti, swam ashore on Virginia Key, a small islet a short distance southeast of downtown Miami, and were taken into the custody of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP for its initials in English), said agency spokesman Michael Selva.
Some people present on the beach helped the migrants get ashore in small boats and jet skis, Selva said.
In addition, federal authorities were processing dozens of other migrants who were still aboard the sailboat at sea, which usually means they will be sent back to their countries of origin.
An increasing number of migrants from Cuba and Haiti have attempted the dangerous crossing of the Florida Straits in recent months to illegally enter the Florida Keys and other parts of the state amid deteriorating economic conditions in their countries.
The rebound of Cubans has been particularly pronounced. Since Oct. 1, 2022, the Coast Guard has intercepted more than 4,900 Cubans at sea, compared to more than 6,100 Cubans intercepted during the entire fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, according to the news release.
The administration of President Joe Biden recently began implementing a new policy to send back Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who enter the country illegally through the Texas border, just as it already did Venezuelans.
The government is also offering some 30,000 humanitarian paroles each month to people from those four nations who apply online, pay for their airfare and find a financial sponsor.
Migrants who arrive illegally and do not immediately return to their country of origin will not be eligible for the new conditional permits. Federal authorities hope this will deter arrivals by sea by offering a safer alternative and a path to residency.
The US embassy in Havana recently resumed processing migrant visas, noting Wednesday that some Cuban applicants had already been accepted for the new permits. In Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, an immigration office has been packed in recent days with people seeking to process their passports for use in the US program.
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Mark Cobb said in a statement that with the new legal options available to migrants, “we ask all individuals to use the safe and legal means available to travel to the United States. Don’t risk your life at sea when you don’t have to.”