Although to a lesser extent, the flow of rafters continues to reach Florida. This Friday the United States Border Patrol detained 18 Cubans in Key West. According to the chief officer of the Miami sectorWalter Slosar, landed near Fort Zachary Taylor, a tourist spot that houses an old weapons depot from the Civil War.
Slosar shared the images of a rustic boat to which the Cubans adapted an engine in the rear. The ingenuity led them to place the exhaust of a vehicle to prevent the accumulation of gases from affecting the performance of the machine during the journey. The raft was named Horseshoe.
The migrants were transferred to a detention center. Despite the fact that no details were provided, since the beginning of January, the rafters who manage to make landfall have been given an expedited order of deportationa verdict that can however be reversed with legal advice.
Those who are detained on the high seas on their sea voyage are being expelled to their country of origin. Last Tuesday, the Guardia Cortes repatriated 19 Cubans on board the ship issac mayo. The agency has also registered since last October 1, 2022 the arrest of 5,590 rafters whose attempt to reach Florida was frustrated.
Although no details were provided, since the beginning of January, rafters who manage to make landfall have been given an expedited deportation order.
The day the US repatriated these Cubans, Customs and Border Protection officials reported that the unit located in the port of New Orleans (Louisiana) processed eight who “were rescued on February 9 almost 400 miles from the coast of Mobile, Alabama.
These island nationals, stressed the agency in a statement“they were sailing in an improvised raft built with pieces of polystyrene foam” and their crew did not have life jackets.
Since February 11, they have been in the Handcock (Mississippi) detention center awaiting deportation.
CBP New Orleans director of operations Steve Stavinoha insisted that “any migrant who tries to choose illegal routes to enter the US will face consequences.”
Stavinoha reiterated that nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela can use the CBP One app to request advance authorization to travel to the United States to apply for parole. “The mobile app is free and allows non-citizens without the proper documents for legal admission.”
The official stressed that appointments scheduled through CBP One “are available up to 13 days in advance,” in addition to the fact that migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela with prior authorization are allowed to fly to the US for the CBP processing.
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