Florida: National Guard will face immigration wave by sea

the governor of Florida (USA.), Ron DeSantissigned this Friday an executive order that allows him to mobilize troops from the National Guard and allocate new state resources to face the migratory wave of Cubans and Haitians that affects the south of the state, as well as “help alleviate the pressure on local resources.”

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The executive order will allow the state to “deploy air assets, including Florida National Guard planes and helicopters,” a statement from the governor’s office said.

The measure is intended to “strengthen the marine patrol of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to support interceptions” at sea and “guarantee the safety of migrants trying to reach Florida,” it adds.

The Republican DeSantis argues in his executive order that, only in the first two months of the current fiscal year (it began on October 1), the Border Patrol (CBP) has detained more than 460,000 people trying to enter the country through the southwestern border.

The governor’s order comes one day after the United States announced a new immigration plan for undocumented immigrants who enter the country through the land border.

President Joe Biden assured this Thursday that Mexico has agreed to admit 30,000 immigrants a month from Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti who are expelled from US territory for crossing the border irregularly.

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“My message is this: If you are trying to leave Cuba, Nicaragua or Haiti, do not show up at the border. Stay where you are and apply legally”Biden said.

However, the announcement does not detail the situation of the Cubans and Haitians who arrive by sea in precarious boats, and who, according to Florida Senator Marco Rubio, have overwhelmed the resources of the state.

In a letter, Rubio requested this Thursday support from the federal government in the face of the massive arrival of immigrants to South Florida, especially along the coasts of the Keys of this state, which in the last three days has exceeded a thousand undocumented immigrants.

Nearly a hundred Cuban migrants arrived in the Florida Keys in just 24 hours in rustic boats, thus increasing the number of the massive arrival of undocumented immigrants in this territory, the Border Patrol (CBP) reported this Friday.

To these immigrants are added some 606 more who have been intercepted at sea by immigration authorities, according to figures released by the Southeast Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF-SE).

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On the other hand, the arrival of 364 immigrants last weekend at the Dry Tortugas National Park forced its temporary closure in the middle of the holiday season in order to facilitate the rescue efforts of these people stranded on the islets.

The immigrants, mostly Cubans and Haitians, have arrived in multiple and precarious boats to various islands in the Florida Keys archipelago, in Monroe County, in the southern tip of the United States.

Walter N. Slosar, chief of CBP’s Miami Sector, noted in a recent statement that since October 1, 2022 this sector has experienced a 400% increase in people who arrive by sea and are detained upon disembarking.

So far this fiscal year 2023, that is, since last October 1, the Coast Guard has intercepted 3,839 Cubans at sea, a significant escalation of arrests compared to the 838 intercepted in the entire fiscal year of 2021 and the 6,182 in 2022.

Source: Elcomercio

jack

I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.