Increasing number of Cuban migrants are trying to reach U.S. by sea

Increasing number of Cuban migrants are trying to reach U.S. by sea

If the Cuban migrant flow by sea continues at the same pace, total
interceptions, sightings or arrivals during fiscal year 2015 may be
surpassed before the end of the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
BY ALFONSO CHARDY
achardy@elnuevoherald.com

When the U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 52 Cuban migrants in early May,
the agency also noted a steady increase in attempts by Cuban migrants to
reach South Florida by boat.

According to figures provided by the Coast Guard itself, at least 3,563
Cuban migrants have been spotted or intercepted at sea, or have reached
South Florida since Oct. 1, the start of the federal fiscal year.

This suggests that if the Cuban migrant flow by sea continues at the
same pace, total interceptions, sightings or arrivals during fiscal year
2015 — 4,476 — may be surpassed before the end of the current fiscal
year, which ends Sept. 30.

The increase in the flow of Cuban migrants arriving on the beach or who
have been intercepted or sighted at sea is something of significant
interest not only for the federal government but for South Florida
communities whose leaders worry about the fiscal impact on schools and
emergency services.

Federal officials have said the number of Cuban immigrants in general —
by sea, land and air — began to increase considerably after the Dec. 17,
2014 order by President Barack Obama for the restoration of diplomatic
relations with Cuba, a historic shift in policy toward the island.

Since then, many Cuban migrants interviewed by el Nuevo Herald have said
the change has instilled fear among Cubans on the island who think the
Cuban Adjustment Act and the wet foot/dry foot policy are about to
disappear.

"There is a great number of Cuban boats sailing toward the United States
all the time," said Raúl Suniel, one of the Cuban rafters interviewed in
Miami shortly after arriving last year. "Every day many people set out
on ocean voyages because they are afraid that the Cuban Adjustment Act
will be revoked."

The number of arrivals, interceptions and sightings, labeled by the
Coast Guard as "Cuban Migrant Flow" stood at 4,476 for fiscal year 2015
— the largest since 2012 when the total hovered around 1,870 — an
average level that had been maintained year after year since 2009.

Interceptions alone also are rising. Since Oct. 1, according to the
Coast Guard, at least 2,350 Cuban migrants have been detained at sea and
most returned to Cuba.

This indicates that by the end of the current fiscal year, the number of
interdictions also is likely to exceed those in fiscal year 2015: 2,927.

That figure is the highest number of interdictions in one year since
2010 when the annual total reached one of its lowest levels since the
1994 rafter crisis: 422.

Most Cuban immigrants who seek to enter the United States without a
visa, arrive by land, across the Mexican border.

From October 1 to late February, about 27,088 Cubans crossed the
Mexican border or arrived at some international airport, according to
Customs and Border Protection figures.

It is also possible that this number will exceed the total of more than
40,000 recorded arrivals in fiscal year 2015, the highest in the last 10
years.

Source: Increasing number of Cuban migrants are trying to reach U.S. by
sea | In Cuba Today - http://www.incubatoday.com/news/article78170182.html