Cuban influx forces U.S. Park Service to close Florida islands

FILE PHOTO: A group of Migrants from Cuba walk towards Border Patrol officers after wading across the Rio Grande as U.S. border cities brace for an influx of asylum seekers when COVID-era Title 42 migration restrictions are set to end, in Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S. December 18, 2022. REUTERS/Jordan Vonderhaar

The U.S. National Park Service closed Dry Tortugas National Park off the Florida Keys for several days starting on Monday after 300 immigrants had arrived on the islands in recent days, overwhelming first responders.

"Like elsewhere in the Florida Keys, the park has recently seen an increase in people arriving by boat from Cuba and landing on the islands of Dry Tortugas National Park," the Park Service said in a statement announcing the closure to the public.