(RepublicanReport.org) – While much of the attention regarding immigration turns to the southern border, land isn’t the only way migrants appear at America’s doorstep. Those looking for a better life in the US come by boat as well. Recently, a group of people arrived by sailboat to the Sunshine State.
On June 26, local and federal officials reported that a group of 118 Haitian migrants sailed to the lower Florida Keys, arriving in the wee hours of the morning. The group consisted mostly of men, but women and children were also aboard the vessel.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office arrived on the scene to find the boat about 100 yards offshore. Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the agency in Miami, Samuel Briggs II, said US Border Patrol agents also responded to the location. Medical personnel examined the group on scene and found none of the people had life-threatening injuries but transported them to a local clinic for further evaluation.
Recent reports stated that the Biden administration intends to stop the deportation of about 300,000 Haitians, allowing them to remain in the country to work because of the circumstances they are fleeing from in Haiti. It’s unclear if the 188 migrants who arrived in the Florida Keys will be swept into that number.
The administration has already granted protected status to migrants from other countries like Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Venezuela — helping thousands of people. Haiti, in particular, is undergoing a slew of violence as gangs have basically taken over the country since the president’s assassination in 2021. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas granted the country protected status that year, and it was renewed in 2022.
In March, Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) sent law enforcement officers and soldiers to the Florida Keys to stop Haitian migrants from entering the country. His office said the state had a right to defend against “the potential of invasion.” He has not publicly responded to the 118 migrants who arrived the other day.
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