Occasionally, we’ve noted here (most recently on February 3) the ongoing “surge at sea” of migrants attempting to reach U.S. shores. This past Sunday, perhaps the largest such example appeared several hundred yards off Key Largo, Florida. There, a boat loaded with no fewer than 356 Haitians ran aground in the surf near the Ocean Reef Club. Of the passengers, 158 attempted to reach the shore and had to be rescued by U.S. and local officials. Meanwhile, 198 stayed on board.
Those reaching land were taken into custody by Customs and Border Protection officials, where their disposition, according to CBP rules, “depends on their claims and background.” Conceivably, they could be returned to Haiti under the CDC’s Title 42 protocols, though the Biden administration opposes those rules, and they may well be allowed to remain in the U.S.
Those who stayed on board were transferred to Coast Guard vessels, and their repatriation to Haiti is, according to the CBP, “pending.” Reports from the CBP made no mention of the number of smugglers on board or any arrests.
This incident represents not only the surge of illegal migrants attempting to reach the U.S. by sea but also a surge, begun last year, of illegal Haitian migrants. You may recall that many of the more than 15,000 migrants gathered under the International Bridge at Del Rio, Texas, last summer were Haitian nationals, as were many of those migrants rioting in Tapachula, Mexico, last month. With Democrat politicians demanding a warmer welcome for Haitians, that surge is likely to continue.
For more, see the CBP website.