Between April and October 1980, around 125,000 Cubans were allowed to leave Fidel Castro’s Cuba and make their way to the U.S. Most of the refugees were part of a boatlift organized by Cuban Americans. Many had been released from Castro’s prisons and insane asylums.
But most of the refugees were families with children who ended up enriching the culture and adding to the economy of South Florida — but only after enormous problems relating to their sudden and unplanned arrival were solved.
The newcomers were placed in refugee camps if they had no sponsor or relative to take them in. Those camps became breeding grounds for drug gangs and other illegal activities that eventually led to higher crime rates and Miami becoming the murder capital of the world.
Today, most of the “Marielitos” who arrived in 1980 are solid citizens with the majority of them reliable Republican voters. But there is another exodus from Cuba underway today — a far less visible one than the boat lift of 1980. And according to the CPB, there have been 220,000 Cubans who have entered the United States from Mexico just this year. The reason they have been coming through Mexico is that the Coast Guard interdicts any boats they can catch coming from Cuba via the sea.
But if they can cross the 90 miles of ocean and land in Florida or U.S. territory before being turned back, they get to stay. And that’s what happened to about 300 illegals who crossed from Cuba and landed in the Florida Keys.
Over the weekend, 300 migrants arrived at Dry Tortugas National Park, located west of Key West, the National Park Service said. On Sunday, park officials said the park has seen an increase in people arriving from Cuba, prompting its closure for the next several days.
“The closure, which is expected to last several days, is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to attend to the migrants,” the park tweeted Monday. “Concession-operated ferry and sea plane services are temporarily suspended.”
The migrants were being given food, water and basic medical attention until the Department of Homeland Security takes the lead in caring for them.
Separately, more than 160 migrants landed in the Middle and Upper Keys, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said Monday. At least 88 of the migrants were from Cuba, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said.
Would you be desperate enough to cross 90 miles of ocean in a boat like one of these?
#Breaking: During the past 24 hours, U.S. Border Patrol agents & LE partners responded to 5 migrant landings throughout the Florida Keys and encountered 88 Cuban migrants. @USCGSoutheast @mcsonews @CBPAMORegDirSE #NewYearsEve #Saturday #florida #Cuba pic.twitter.com/Aq415sNGDa
— Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar (@USBPChiefMIP) December 31, 2022
The Coast Guard declined to comment on the nationality of the migrants, but initial reports were that their boat was a “chug,” or the type of makeshift vessel Cuban migrants often use to make the dangerous journey across the Florida Straits.https://t.co/hCSyRpLGih
— Stars and Stripes (@starsandstripes) December 29, 2022
With 220,000 Cubans entering the U.S. through Mexico, the United States really doesn’t need another massive boat lift by Cubans entering the U.S. in Florida. It’s just one more indication that the crisis that Joe Biden refuses to admit is a crisis is already upon us.
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