The numbers of illegal migrants coming across our land borders, in particular the southern one, are stunning, almost incomprehensible. But, as we’ve noted in the past, in our occasional “Surge at Sea” series, they come by sea also.
Two cases in the previous week have just been revealed. On December 4, for example, 41 men and seven women, all Haitian, were found abandoned on uninhabited Mona Island, which lies between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. The island has become a convenient spot for smugglers to drop their clients. In June 2022, five Haitian migrants died and 68 others were rescued after smugglers dropped them off in waters near Mona Island. At least this time, they made landfall. As usual, the eventual fate of the abandonees has not been revealed.
Also this week, CBP agents seized a vessel packed with at least 63 illegals, headed for Puerto Rico. Forty-six of the men and six women were from the Dominican Republic, and one woman and eight men were Haitian. In this case, during processing officials discovered that five of the number had previously been deported from the U.S. after convictions for aggravated felonies such as manslaughter, assault, and narcotics trafficking. They, we are told, will be prosecuted for “re-entry of a previously deported non-citizen.” Once they’re re-deported, you can bet they’ll be back.