The United States Coast Guard repatriated this Wednesday aboard the ship Kathleen Moore to 50 Cubans. According to data offered by the dependency in its social networksthe rafters were disembarked in Cabañas, a small fishing village in the municipality of Mariel.
The Coast Guard stressed that the rafters were detained after “three interceptions off the coast of Florida.”
Since the end of last year, the US authorities warned that any rafters who were detained on their journey would be returned to their country of origin. In mid-January, the Secretary of Homeland Security of the United States, Alejandro Mayorkas, specified that “Cubans and Haitians who go to sea and land in the US will not be eligible for the process of parole and will be subjected to deportation proceedings.”
Despite warnings, Cuban rafters continue to arrive in Florida. Last Saturday, the chief officer of the Miami sector, Walter Slosar, reported the landing in the Marquesas Cays of 4 women and 16 men. “The migrants, who were taken into custody, were stranded and were rescued by the Coast Guard,” he stressed.
#WeeklyRoundUp @USCG Crews patrolling the Florida Straits, Windward & Mona Passes prevented more than 1,000 illegal migrants from reaching the US by sea from Jan. 20-27. #DontTakeToTheSea pic.twitter.com/Vl9i4junUv
—USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) January 27, 2023
To the rafters who manage to make landfall, since the beginning of January, they are served with an expedited order of deportation, the verdict that a judge issues for expulsion of a person but that can be reversed with legal advice. This order has an expiration period of 60 days. Hence, many Cubans do not know if they will really be deported or will be able to opt for another solution.
In an attempt to stop the arrival of migrants, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis mobilized the National Guard, allowing the Coast Guard to extend surveillance in the Straits of Florida. Between January 20 and 27, the crews prevented more than 1,000 immigrants, 420 of them Cubans, from disembarking.
In the Bahamas, this Monday the Royal Defense Force reported that 52 Cubans were handed over to Immigration officials after they were detained in Bahamian waters in recent days. On Wednesday, 18 people were detained north of Cayo Sal Banks. Other rafters were located in Cayo Anguilla after the raft ran aground and 26 were rescued Monday, including one deceased, in Cayo Orange.
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