The arrival of cuban rafters that touched the coasts of south Florida amounted to 28,057 in the first eight months of the current fiscal year (FY2023), a worrying sign for the US authorities for the summer.
Figures revealed by the Customs and Border Protection Department (CBP) indicate that only last May 5,532 Cubans arrived irregularly through the Miami sector, an amount very similar to the 5,928 that entered through the same territory the previous month.
The signs of the unstoppable immigration from Cuba by sea have created an alert from immigration control agencies, considering that the summer period is traditionally very active in illegal trips in the Florida Straits, both in rustic boats and in human trafficking operations.
Although the flow of Cubans across the Mexican border has remained at relatively low levels since last January, when the humanitarian parole program With greater restrictions on irregular entries, the arrival statistics for rafters have escalated uncontrollably.
If the entrances through the Tampa sector are added, the figure rises to 30,199.
“The number of rafters who continue to enter United States territory is impressive, which shows that The Cuban migration crisis has not been able to be resolved through humanitarian parolethe alternative to request asylum with the application CBP One or the increase in visas delivered at the embassy in Havana,” said the immigration lawyer Willy Allen. “This is a deep crisis because It is the crisis of Cuban despair”.
Allen observed that the increase in maritime entries through South Florida is a symptom of the impatience of Cubans with the general state of deterioration of their country.
“There are legal avenues to emigrate, but people do not want to wait for the process, which is overwhelmed between the volume of applications and the limitation of the immigration system to resolve the accumulated arrears,” added the lawyer.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official told CyberCuba that border control authorities are aware of the increase in maritime operations in the Straits of Florida and are “making efforts to prevent them.”
“People who risk their lives at sea should also know that opportunities to access immigration benefits are closing,” the official said. “People who arrive will be expelled and will be prevented from entering the country for the next five years, with penalties for repeat offenders.”
The DHS/CBP figures are the first issued after the Suspension of Title 42 Health Orderwhich implemented a more dynamic strategy for expedited deportations at the border since May 12.
However, May recorded the entry of 2,794 Cubans across the Mexican border, an increase of 53% over the previous month.
The US authorities have warned that the deportations of Cubans will continue for people who do not have a legal basis to remain in the country. The recent ruling of the Supreme Court that will allow the Joe Biden administration establishing priorities to deport undocumented immigrants does not apply to people who continue to arrive in the country by land and sea.
“As we continue to execute our plans, including toughening consequences for those who cross illegally, while expanding access to pathways and legal process, we will continue to monitor changes in arrival trends and adjust our response as necessary. necessary,” CBP said in its monthly report.
To the group of Cubans who managed to enter through the coasts of Florida, are added 6,800 rafters intercepted at sea during FY2023the highest rate since the rafter crisis of 1994.
Other updated data on the statistics of Cuban irregular immigration to the United States from the CBP report at the end of May reveal that:
- Through all border points –land or sea– the number of Cuban arrivals rose to 9,465, with 457 people more than last April.
- Since last October 1, when FY2023 began, 153,576 immigrants Cubans have reached US territory, 119,143 of them through the border with Mexico.
- 410,246 they have entered the country after the arrival of Biden to the White House.
