A speedboat carrying about 60 Haitian nationals bound for Miami capsized yesterday off the coast of the Bahamas, drowning at least 17. Bahamian officials rescued 25; the others are still missing. Two alleged smugglers were taken into custody.
The twin-engine craft had left a docking facility on New Providence island around 1 a.m. and capsized in rough seas about seven miles out.
As we have noted here before (such as on May 11, 2022, and April 5, 2002), sea-going attempts by illegal migrants to reach the United States have increased in number over the past couple of years, though their numbers are still dwarfed by landward efforts. Just last Thursday, for example, CBP officers and Miami-Dade police intercepted a grounded sailboat with 150 Haitian migrants crammed on board near Key Biscayne.
Since October, more than 6,100 Haitians have been intercepted at sea while trying to reach the United States illegally, constituting the biggest exodus from Haiti in two decades. Many incidents have involved large numbers of passengers packed onto small crafts. In May, for example, a boat bound for Florida carrying more than 800 Haitian migrants broke down in Cuban waters. The business is a gold mine for smugglers. The survivors of the capsized boat this weekend told rescuers they had paid the smugglers between $3,000 and $8,000 per person for the trip.
In theory, U.S. policy is to return migrants intercepted at sea to their homeland or point of departure. Very often, however, after the initial news reports go out, we receive little additional information regarding the disposition of individuals. At that point all we typically have to go on is “Official U.S. Policy.” Under the current regime, take that with a soupçon of seawater.
For more, see ABC News.