On Saturday, December 3, a Coast Guard cutter intercepted a 30-foot boat taking on water near Lake Worth Beach, Florida. On board, they found 79 Haitian migrants en route to an expected illegal landfall on the U.S. mainland. The migrants were turned over to Bahamian officials.
So far this fiscal year, which began October 1, a total of 584 illegal Haitian migrants have been interdicted at sea. During the previous fiscal year, 7,175 were similarly interdicted, a huge jump from FY 2021, which saw only 1,527. Haitians hoping to live in the U.S. are increasingly tempted to embark on the dangerous journey owing to the apparent friendliness of the current administration. Just yesterday, according to the NY Times, the Biden administration announced new special protections to more than 100,000 illegal Haitians already in the U.S., including the work permits and permission to remain for at least 18 months.
American officials charged with preventing illegal entry into the U.S. continually emphasize the futility of making the attempt. For example, Lt. J.G. Nicholas Fujimoto of Coast Guard District 7, who participated in the weekend’s interdiction, advised, “Don’t waste your hard-earned money on smugglers and illegal voyages.” Yet decisions made at the upper reaches of the federal government, such as the new protections mentioned above, tell the would-be asylees another story. And so they keep coming.
For more, see EWNews.