Coast Guard, Border Patrol Make Apprehensions off Florida’s Coast; Miami Border Patrol Sector Breaks Annual Migrant Apprehension Record in Four Months

Coast Guard, Border Patrol make apprehensions off Florida’s coast::

As U.S. Coast Guard crews continue to make a record number of apprehensions off of Florida’s coast, so also 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 Jan. 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 Sept. 1, 2021, to Oct. 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. —>READ MORE HERE

Miami Border Patrol Sector Breaks Annual Migrant Apprehension Record in Four Months:

The border crisis expanded to Florida in recent months as officials in the Miami Sector report a massive increase in migrant landings. During the first four months of FY23, Miami Sector agents encountered more migrants than for the entire FY22.

U.S. Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz tweeted that since the new fiscal year began on October 1, 2022, Miami Sector agents apprehended more than 4,400 migrants who landed on the Florida coast. This is more than the 4,009 migrants apprehended in this sector for all of the previous fiscal year.

Since Oct. 1, agents have responded to 246 migrant landings and encountered over 4,400 migrants in Miami Sector. We have increased personnel and continue to partner with Federal, State, and local agencies to deter, detect, and interdict these illegal maritime attempts in Florida. pic.twitter.com/x4CaYfK3Q5

— Chief Raul Ortiz (@USBPChief) February 1, 2023

The surge began in August 2022 when Miami Sector agents apprehended 1,049 migrants. This single-month total represented 26 percent of the entire year’s total of 4,009 migrants.

During just the past six months, Miami Sector agents encountered nearly 6,000 migrants who made landfall along the Florida coastline.

These numbers do not include the thousands of migrants apprehended at sea by U.S. Coast Guard crews and U.S. Customs and Border Protection marine units. —>READ MORE HERE

Source