Ft. Jefferson, home of the Dry Tortugas National Park, lies about 70 miles out from Key West, Florida, and 139 miles from Matanzas, Cuba. It was from that latter place and nearby points that more than 500 illegal migrants set off on January 1 in a variety of boats, heading for the United States. Within a day, they had landed at the park and other places along the Florida Keys. The arrival of about 300 at Ft. Jefferson was enough to force the National Park Service to close the park, as NPS personnel were required to provide food, water, and medical attention to the newcomers.
The migrants will be turned over to the Department of Homeland Security for processing as soon as DHS can manage it. Their ultimate fate–ie, whether they will be allowed to remain or be sent back to Cuba–has yet to be determined (and most likely will not be announced).
Ft. Jefferson was built–though never actually completed–in the 1840s as one of the string of coastal forts intended to guard the new republic from invasion by Spain, which at that time counted Cuba among its overseas possessions. As it happened, the fort never proved necessary back then, but, ironically, nearly two centuries later, it is now being used as an unprotected beachhead for an invasion of a different kind.
The national park is expected to remain closed until the new arrivals can be transported to Key West, assuming no further migrants arrive.
For more, see the Miami Herald.