In a continuing series of maritime interceptions, the Border Patrol caught 118 illegal Haitian migrants landing at Key West on Wednesday. Miami Sector Chief Patrol Agent Samuel Briggs told reporters:
At approximately 4:00 a.m., U.S. Border Patrol agents with support from federal, state & local law enforcement partners responded to a migrant landing & encountered 118 Haitian migrants.
This was only the latest arrest of sea-going migrants. Earlier this month, 305 people from Haiti and the Bahamas were intercepted by the Coast Guard, in a part of an operation that nabbed nearly 12,000 migrants in FY 2023. The number who land on American soil undetected is, of course, unknown.
Commenting on the ongoing crisis, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) insisted in March that the
United States returns or repatriates migrants interdicted at sea to The Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Haiti. . . . U.S. policy is to return noncitizens who do not have a fear of persecution or torture or a legal basis to enter the United States. Those interdicted at sea are subject to immediate repatriation pursuant to our longstanding policy and procedures.
The key word in the quote above is “subject.” No one in the government is likely to tell you whether any are ever actually returned, so don’t bother asking.
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