Repatriation of migrants to continue, even those who make it to shore

MIAMI – Another group of 22 migrants was released on Monday, some were taken to a train station in Fort Lauderdale. 

“They (U.S. Border Patrol) just gave us our papers, a phone and told us to call our families from here,” said Didier Sanchez, a Cuban migrant who was excited to be met my relatives in Broward, others were showing the documents they received. 

“They are getting an order of expedited removal, it’s a deportation order,” immigration attorney Willie Allen told CBS4, “It’s concerning what they’re getting without a hearing in front of an immigration judge.”

On Friday, Governor Ron DeSantis signed an executive order activating the state’s National Guard and directing law enforcement and other state agencies to provide resources to support local governments responding to the influx of migrants.

On Sunday, Border Patrol agents and Florida Highway Patrol troopers responded to two migrant landings, one in Key Largo, and the other in Marathon. Fifty-three Cuban migrants were picked up, four were taken to the hospital to be treated for dehydration.

Also on Sunday, the US Coast Guard says it repatriated 273 Cuban migrants Sunday after intercepting a number of boats off the Florida coast on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

Last week, the National Park Service temporarily closed Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys to the public due to an influx of migrants from Cuba. The park has since reopened.

The Coast Guard said its crews interdicted 4,795 Cubans since October 1, 2022, compared to 6,182 Cuban migrants in all of fiscal year 2022, 838 Cuban migrants in fiscal year 2021 and 49 Cuban migrants in fiscal year 2020.

When CBS4 asked Allen if there would an increase of Cubans and Haitians migrants in light of the situation at the border with Mexico, the immigration attorney said, “No, and if so, they will be intercepted at sea, more Coast Guard agents will be watching the Florida straights and repatriating migrants, even the ones who make it to shore.”