Dozens Of Cubans Who Arrived In Florida Keys Headed To Doral
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- More than 50 Cubans are being processed by U.S. Border Patrol after coming ashore over the weekend in three separate locations in the Florida Keys.
The group is expected to be brought to the World Church Services in Doral on Monday afternoon.
At last check, the group of 51 Cubans were still in Marathon, according to U.S. Customs & Border Protection Services.
The Monroe County Sheriff's Office said the groups landed between 5:30 a.m. and 7:40 a.m.
The first group of 11 migrants including two children landed in the upper Keys in Tavernier. They claim to have departed Cuba on December 9th.
The second group of 22 migrants landed just north of Key West. One adult male was transported to a medical center for medical issues. They claim to have left Cuba on December 17th.
The final group of 18 landed about 25 miles away on Big Pine Key. It was not immediately known if the groups were connected.
Under the so-called federal "wet foot, dry foot policy," Cubans who reach U.S. soil are generally allowed to stay, while those intercepted at sea are usually repatriated to Cuba.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, fears about that policy potentially ending have caused a surge in the numbers of Cuban migrants.
