Anguilla Cay — over 100 miles southwest of Key West — in two separate stops, the Coast Guard told all major news outlets in a news release.
Migrants are taken to the Bahamas when they are found in Bahamian waters. Only hours before the transfer, the crew spotted an overloaded chug, or small boat, on Friday, taking 15 Cuban men aboard “for safety of life at sea concerns,” according to the Coast Guard. On April 11, another crew found an overloaded sail freighter, bringing 51 men, 10 women and six children — all Haitians — aboard due to safety concerns.
“These types of voyages are extremely dangerous,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jason Neiman, Coast Guard District Seven public affairs officer. “If our cutters were not patrolling the waters, who knows what would have happened to these people.”
The Coast Guard tallies the number of migrants detained by fiscal year, which begin in October and end in September of the next year. Since Oct. 1 of last year, Coast Guard crews have stopped 3,519 Haitian migrants compared to: 1,527 Haitian migrants in Fiscal Year 2021 418 Haitian migrants in Fiscal Year 2020 932 Haitian migrants in Fiscal Year 2019 609 Haitian migrants in Fiscal Year 2018 419 Haitian migrants in Fiscal Year 2017
Since Oct. 1 of last year, Coast Guard crews stopped 1,295 Cubans compared to: 838 Cuban migrants in Fiscal Year 2021 49 Cuban migrants in Fiscal Year 2020 13 Cuban migrants in Fiscal Year 2019 59 Cuban migrants in Fiscal Year 2018 1,468 Cuban migrants in Fiscal Year 2017 5,396 Cuban migrants in Fiscal Year 2016
