MIAMI — The U.S. Border Patrol said it responded to more than six migrant landings in the Florida Keys Thursday.
The Keys and South Florida are experiencing an influx in migrants from both Cuba and Haiti, but that many migrant arrivals in one day is unusual.
The landings happened in various parts of the island chain, said Adam Hoffner, division chief for U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Miami operations. All of the migrants are Cuban, he said.
Not counting the latest groups of migrants, more than 60 people from Cuba have arrived in the Keys since last Saturday, according to the Border Patrol. It wasn’t immediately clear how many landed Thursday.
The exodus from Cuba and Haiti has also kept the U.S. Coast Guard the busiest it’s been in years patrolling the Florida Straits.
Since October, the agency has stopped 3,739 Cubans and 6,534 Haitians at sea who were trying to reach South Florida. Almost all have been returned to their homelands.
Both island nations are experiencing deteriorating economic and political conditions, and Haiti is going through a period of increasing gang violence that has contributed to the largest maritime migration away from its shores since 2004.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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