immigration
Coast Guard repatriates 48 Cubans
U.S. authorities said they have seen a slight increase in the number of
migrants intercepted in the Florida Straits.
By Alfonso Chardy
achardy@ElNuevoHerald.com
The U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday that 48 Cubans intercepted at
sea have been repatriated to the island.
A Coast Guard statement said that since April 28, cutters in the Florida
Straits have intercepted at least 59 Cubans in nine separate episodes.
Of the 59, 48 were returned to the island, nine were taken to the
Guantánamo naval base because they might qualify for resettlement in a
third country, and two others were brought ashore because they were
legal residents of the United States, the statement said.
Periodically, the Coast Guard intercepts and returns to the island
dozens of Cubans as part of the wet foot /dry foot policy in which Cuban
migrants intercepted at sea are generally repatriated while those who
reach shore can stay and apply for legal residence after more than a
year in the country.
The most recent repatriation is a further indication of what could be a
small increase in the number of Cubans intercepted at sea.
Since Oct. 1, at least 365 Cuban migrants have been intercepted in the
Florida Straits, the Coast Guard said. A year ago, from Oct. 1, 2009, to
May 1, 2010, only 135 Cuban migrants were stopped, the Coast Guard said.
"In April we had the largest number of Cuban migrant interdictions so
far this fiscal year, with 125 Cuban migrants," said Lt. Cmdr. Matt
Moorlag, a Coast Guard spokesman in Miami. "Though interceptions may be
rising, the number is still much lower than the figures we saw between
2005 and 2008."
During those years, the number of Cubans intercepted at sea exceeded
2,000 per year. Interceptions began to decline dramatically in 2009,
when the number reached only 799.
Moorlag said the Coast Guard had also noticed a difference in migrants
intercepted in recent months compared to those stopped between 2005 and
2009. In those years, said Moorlag, Cubans intercepted had been largely
brought by smugglers using fast boats. Many of the migrants intercepted
recently have come in homemade, "rustic" boats, he said.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/05/11/2212848/coast-guard-repatriates-48-cubans.html
No comments:
Post a Comment