As U.S. Coast Guard crews continue to make a record number of apprehensions off Florida’s coast, so are U.S. Border Patrol Miami Sector agents.
On Saturday, 20 Cubans, including 16 men and four women, were apprehended and taken into Border Patrol custody after making landfall on a rustic vessel in the Marquesas Keys. The islands are uninhabited and located west of Key West. On January 24, Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Operations crew agents rescued 18 people on an overloaded rustic vessel south of the Florida Keys.
Miami Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Walter Slosar posted a compilation of videos on social media about the types of vessels people are arriving on, warning how dangerous the journey is.
Illegal maritime voyages onboard overloaded or homemade vessels are extremely dangerous and potentially fatal. We urge individuals to use safe and legal pathways available to travel to the U.S. and to not take to the sea.#DontTakeToTheSea #alert #VIDEOS #reelsinstagram #Florida pic.twitter.com/EblxoNwkjD— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) January 24, 2023
“Illegal maritime voyages onboard overloaded or homemade vessels are extremely dangerous and potentially fatal,” he said. “We urge individuals to use safe and legal pathways available to travel to the U.S. and to not take to the sea.”
The Miami Border Patrol Sector has reported a significant increase in apprehensions over the past few months after reporting a 500% increase in apprehensions in fiscal 2022.
From September 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022, Miami Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended 2,350 foreign nationals attempting to illegally enter Florida by sea. The majority were Cubans.
They also interdicted 131 maritime smuggling events, a 330% increase from fiscal 2021, Slosar said last month.
In December, Miami Sector agents apprehended a record 1,664 illegal foreign nationals and reported that 107 evaded capture by law enforcement, according to preliminary data obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent.
In January so far, these numbers include 1,399 apprehensions and 40 gotaways, according to preliminary data obtained by The Center Square.
This is in addition to U.S. Coast Guard crew in the first three months of fiscal 2023 apprehending 1,766 Haitians and 5,183 Cubans. In fiscal 2022, they apprehended a record 7,175 Haitians and 6,182 Cubans. By comparison, they apprehended 49 Cubans in fiscal 2020.
Responsible for patrolling 1,200 miles of coastal border in Florida, Miami Sector Border Patrol agents regularly work with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, which has jurisdiction over the Florida Keys.
Earlier this month, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a state of emergency after roughly 500 people were apprehended in one weekend attempting to enter Florida illegally, placing a burden on local and state resources.
Roughly two weeks later, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a statement saying, “Cubans and Haitians who take to the sea and land on U.S. soil will be ineligible for the parole process and will be placed in removal proceedings.”
In addition to apprehending people, Border Patrol agents also continue to seize drugs. Last weekend, “Good Samaritans discovered suspicious packages that washed up in the Florida Keys,” Slosar said. The packages contained 146 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $2.3 million.
Since October, Miami Sector Border Patrol agents have seized more than 70 pounds of cocaine and 20 pounds of marijuana that washed up on Florida shores in St. Lucie County alone. These drugs had an estimated street value of roughly $940,000, Slosar said.
Also, in the first three months of fiscal 2023, CBP Air and Marine agents confiscated nearly 20 tons of narcotics.
Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
