Upwards Of A Dozen Cuban Migrants Arrive At Elliott Key
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- A group of migrants came ashore on Elliott Key this week.
The Cuban migrants arrived Wednesday and spent the night on Elliott Key. On Thursday morning, a passerby called the authorities for help.
Officials first found three migrants then ended up locating 15 more that were part of the same group made up of three women and 12 men. No children were on board.
The migrants were taken to Dania Beach to be processed. They are eligible to stay in the U.S. because of the so called "Wet Foot, Dry Foot" policy.
Despite the economic reforms the Cuban government has implemented and the death of their former leader Fidel Castro, Cubans continue to leave the island in record numbers
Since Castro's death on November 25th, the U.S. Coast Guard has repatriated more than 200 Cubans. That does not count those who made it ashore or arrived at airports or border crossings.
There is frustration with the slow and cumbersome economic reforms on the island and with the election of Donald Trump who has promised a hard stance on immigration. Many Cubans fear the so-called "Wet Foot Dry Foot Policy" will be eliminated.
In the fiscal year of 2016, the Coast Guard intercepted over 7,000 Cubans on the high seas.
