Federal and local resources are being stretched thin as high numbers of Cuban and Haitian migrants continue to arrive in the Florida Keys in 2023. It continued on Jan. 3 as roughly 100 Haitians swam from a grounded boat to land near Ocean Cay Drive in Key Largo.
A large vessel carrying a total of 138 Haitian migrants was seen within the waters of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. Once the boat hit bottom, Haitians were left with no choice but to hop out and swim.
Various law enforcement agencies arrived at the scene near MM 99, oceanside, where the majority of the Haitian migrants were sitting and standing at a private Key Largo property. Some were spotted still in the water swimming to shore. One migrant could be seen raising his hands in the air as he swam to shore. Other migrants were picked up by boat. Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission officers and Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies assisted federal agents.
Capt. Duane Baker, a backcountry fishing guide for more than 30 years, thought he’d seen it all until Jan. 3. He was fishing a charter in the flats off the ocean of Key Largo when he and his client saw a large sailboat filled with people with the U.S. Coast Guard in pursuit.
“As the sailboat ran aground, the occupants started screaming and jumping in the water, swimming toward shore. Coast Guard officials yelled to them to stop to no avail, he said. “The Department of Homeland Security arrived about the time people started jumping in the water. It seemed to be 50 to 100 people trying to get to U.S. soil.”
He witnessed this unfolding from about a quarter mile away.
It’s the first major Haitian migrant landing in 2023, following a 2022 fiscal year that saw thousands arriving to Florida and the Keys in unsafe sailing vessels. Walter Slosar, chief patrol agent for U.S. Customs & Border Protection, said Monday that his agents responded to a high volume of migrant landings in the Keys during a 72-hour period.
Since the start of the 2023 fiscal year in October 2022, the U.S. Coast Guard interdicted more than 1,000 Haitian migrants on the water. If the numbers keep up, it would break the record 7,175 interdictions of Haitian migrants in fiscal year 2022. Cuban migrants have also been flocking to Florida at record levels.
“Since Oct. 1, 2022, the Miami Sector has experienced over a 400% increase in migrant encounters,” Slosar said via statement on Jan. 3.
Last December, President Joe Biden’s administration granted new protections for Haitians who were in the U.S., which included more time to work and stay in the country for at least 18 months. According to the New York Times, more than 100,000 Haitians who arrived in the U.S. after 2021 received protections. Alejandro Mayorkas, homeland security secretary, said socioeconomic challenges, gang violence and political instability were among the factors that led to the decision.
Those in CBP custody are put through removal proceedings. But a timeline for their removal and whether they’ll even be sent back to Haiti remains unknown.
The U.S. Border Patrol Miami Sector has established a toll free hotline for visitors and the community to report suspicious border activity. That number is 877-772-8146.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
