Hundreds More Migrants Stopped in South Florida

By Michelle Vecerina

Published Jan. 13, 2023, 10:59 a.m. ET | Updated Aug. 10, 2023

25 Haitian migrants were taken into U.S. Border Patrol custody, near Virginia Key, Fla., Jan. 12, 2023. (Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar)

MIAMI (FLV) – Another 177 Cuban migrants and two dozen Haitian migrants were encountered by the U.S. Coast Guard Thursday in South Florida.

According to a Coast Guard news release, the Cuban migrants were all stopped separately off the coast earlier this month. They were sent back to Cuba by two Coast Guard cutters.

25 Haitians who had traveled by sailboat from Port-de-Paiz, Haiti, swam ashore at Virginia Key, an island southeast of downtown Miami, and were taken into the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to Agency Spokesman Michael Selva.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar posted an update and said additional migrants are being transferred to a Coast Guard cutter.

#Breaking #Update #Miami #Florida

25 Haitian migrants were taken into U.S. Border Patrol custody. Local EMS was on scene to conduct medical screenings. Add’l migrants are being transferred to a USCG cutter. We appreciate the support from all of the responding agencies. https://t.co/2wvEVOk736 pic.twitter.com/vSZdC2s34x
— Samuel Briggs II (@USBPChiefMIP) January 13, 2023

Good Samaritans helped some of the migrants ashore with small boats and jet skis, according to Selva. Dozens of additional migrants still on the sailboat were being processed by federal officials at sea, which usually implies they are returned back to their countries of origin.

Earlier in January, there was an “alarming influx” of illegal immigrants into Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles off Key West. The park closed to provide space for the migrants.

The governor signed an executive order to direct state agencies to provide local governments resources for handling the situation.

Coast Guard crews, Good Samaritans and a Customs and a Border Protection Air and Marine Operations crew alerted the Coast Guard of migrant chugs approaching the Florida Keys.

Crews repatriated 187 people to Cuba on Tuesday, 187 people on Monday, and 273 people on Sunday. Additional rescues were made the prior weekend.

Coast Guard Cutter Mohawk’s crew returned the migrants to Matanzas, Cuba on Jan. 8, following intercepting the vessels off Florida’s coast.

“These illegal voyages are always dangerous and often deadly. We are working closely with partner agencies to save lives and prevent illegal entry to the United States via our southeast maritime border. Those interdicted at sea will be repatriated,” Lt. Cmdr. John Beal said.

#BREAKING @USCG Cutter Mohawk's crew repatriated 273 Cubans to #Cuba, Sun.

“The Coast Guard continues to interdict & rescue migrants from grossly overloaded, unseaworthy vessels." said Lt. Cmdr. John Beal – District 7

Read: https://t.co/epraSW0hp3 #DontTakeToTheSea @USEmbCuba pic.twitter.com/IY32xkUxaF
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) January 8, 2023

Once the migrants were on the Coast Guard vessel, they received food, water, shelter and basic medical attention.

DeSantis rebuked White House accusations that he engaged in a “political stunt” by activating the National Guard.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre lambasted DeSantis’ actions as frequently being a “political stunt.”

“We’ve seen Governor DeSantis do political stunts. That is how he perceives to fix this issue from Florida, right? […] And so we have called that out over and over again. And we will continue to do that. And he is not dealing with the problem, he’s actually creating a problem. And so that’s what I have to say to that. We’ve talked about Governor DeSantis and the, again, the mockery that he’s making of a process that the President is trying to fix,” she said.

At DeSantis’ Thursday press conference, he noted the U.S. Coast Guard “actually requested the state’s assistance to handle all these vessels.”

“Part of it is the message that’s gone out to say, ‘the rules don’t matter, just show up and you’re fine.’ You can’t run a country like that, and it’s caused a lot of problems. And so, we were seeing the Coast Guard had brought in like 300 people that they had onboarded and put them in the Florida Keys,” the governor said. “Well, they didn’t have the ability to take care of those folks.”

“The reality is, this is not the way, you know, you run a country.”

Ron DeSantis' response to the White House's claim activating the national guard to handle migrants arriving in Florida was a "political stunt"

"We are gonna clear the vessels free of charge for those residents because it wasn't their fault – maybe we'll send the bill to Biden." pic.twitter.com/RA192kvrXF
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) January 12, 2023

The Governor’s Office provided a letter from the U.S. Coast Guard asking for assistance in handling the influx:

NEW: A letter from the U.S. Coast Guard asks for Florida's help with the influx migrants off Florida's coast

Last week, the governor sent the National Guard to help with the migrants

The letter comes after the White House accused DeSantis of a 'political stunt' pic.twitter.com/uargrYkJ2y
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) January 13, 2023

Since August of 2022, federal, state and local law enforcement have encountered more than 8,000 migrants in waters off the coast of Florida.

Since Oct. 1, 2022, Coast Guard crews have interdicted 4,795 Cubans compared to: