Immigration Watch International (2): Nearly 500 migrants come ashore in Florida Keys, forcing major park to close

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Nearly 500 migrants come ashore in Florida Keys, forcing major park to close

A massive wave of migrants arrived in the Florida Keys over the weekend, as some 500 people believed to be from Cuba and other parts of the Caribbean came ashore in what local officials described as a major “crisis.”

The arrivals forced authorities to close Dry Tortugas National Park, where some 300 migrants arrived over New Year’s and were met by first responders who did their best to provide aid, including food and water.

At about the same time, another 160 migrants landed by boat in other parts of the Florida Keys, officials said.

Then on Monday, two new groups of migrants that made up about 30 people were found in the Middle Keys.

Officials with Dry Tortugas National Park said the park would be closed to the public for “several days” while efforts are made to assist and process the migrants.

The national park, which is 70 miles west of Key West, is only accessible by boat or seaplane. It is made up of seven small islands.

“The closure, which is expected to last several days, is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to attend to the migrants,” park officials said in a statement.

“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. Park first responders provide food, water and basic medical attention until the Department of Homeland Security arrives and takes the lead.”

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a Monday statement it was assisting federal authorities with a sharp increase of Cuban refugees since Saturday going into Monday. The office said it was told by US Border Patrol some migrant landings might have to wait for federal help until the next day causing the situation to get worse.

The office called it a “federal failure” that is leading to a “humanitarian crisis.”

“This shows a lack of a working plan by the federal government to deal with a mass migration issue that was foreseeable,” said Sheriff Rick Ramsay.

He also noted in a statement, “Refugee arrivals require a lot of resources from the Sheriff’s Office as we help our federal law enforcement partners ensure the migrants are in good health and safe.”

Border Patrol and the Coast Guard have been dealing with the largest spike in migration by boat in South Florida and the Keys in almost a decade with hundreds of interceptions in recent months. Most of the people have been from Cuba and Haiti.

Rear Adm. Brendan McPherson, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District and director of Homeland Security Task Force, said in a statement to ABC News his task force, the Coast Guard, and other federal, state and local officials are working to recover people stranded on Dry Tortugas National Park and the Marquesas.

The migrants will receive food and first aid before they are transferred to federal authorities in the Keys, he reportedly said.

“From there, they will be transported for processing by regional US Border Patrol stations to determine their legal status to remain in the United States or be processed for removal and repatriation to their country of origin,” McPherson told ABC News. “Irregular, illegal maritime migration is always dangerous and very often deadly. Do not take to the seas.”

https://nypost.com/2023/01/02/dry-tortugas-national-park-closes-after-migrants-reach-florida/

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http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)

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http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)

http://awesternheart.blogspot.com.au/ (THE PSYCHOLOGIST)

http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs

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Background

Postings from Brisbane, Australia by John Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.) -- former member of the Australia-Soviet Friendship Society, former anarcho-capitalist and former member of the British Conservative party.

Why is "La Raza" the one Spanish term that is NEVER translated in the American mass media? Because translating it would make it a lot less respectable. It means "THE RACE" -- The mixed Hispanic "race" of Mexico. Racism is fine South of the Rio Grande only, apparently.

The "line" of this blog is that immigration should be SELECTIVE. That means that:

1). A national government should be in control of it. The U.S. and U.K. governments are not but the Australian government has shown that the government of a prosperous Western country can be. Up until its loss of office in 2007, the conservative Howard government had all but eliminated illegal immigration. The present Leftist government has however restarted the flow of illegals by repealing many of the Howard government regulations.

2). Selectivity should be based on "the content of a man's character, not on the color of his skin", as MLK said. To expand that a little: Immigrants should only be accepted if they as individuals seem likely to make a positive net contribution to the country. Many "refugees" would fail that test: Muslims and Africans particularly. Educational level should usually be a pretty fair proxy for the individual's likely value to the receiving country. There will, of course, be exceptions but it is nonetheless unlikely that a person who has not successfully completed High School will make a net positive contribution to a modern Western society.

3). Immigrants should be neither barred NOR ACCEPTED solely because they are of some particular ethnic origin. Blacks are vastly more likely to be criminal than are whites or Chinese, for instance, but some whites and some Chinese are criminal. It is the criminality that should matter, not the race.

4). The above ideas are not particularly blue-sky. They roughly describe the policies of the country where I live -- Australia. I am critical of Australian policy only insofar as the "refugee" category for admission is concerned. All governments have tended to admit as refugees many undesirables. It seems to me that more should be required of them before refugees are admitted -- for instance a higher level of education or a business background.

5). Perhaps the most amusing assertion in the immigration debate is that high-income countries like the USA and Britain NEED illegal immigrants to do low-paid menial work. "Who will pick our crops?" (etc.) is the cry. How odd it is then that Australians get all the normal services of a modern economy WITHOUT illegal immigrants! Yes: Before the pandemic, you usually COULD buy a lettuce in Australia for a dollar or thereabouts. And Australia IS a major exporter of primary products.

6). I am a libertarian conservative so I reject the "open door" policy favoured by many libertarians and many Leftists. Both those groups tend to have a love of simplistic generalizations that fail to deal with the complexity of the real world. It seems to me that if a person has the right to say whom he/she will have living with him/her in his/her own house, so a nation has the right to admit to living among them only those individuals whom they choose.

I can be reached on jonjayray@hotmail.com -- or leave a comment on any post. Abusive comments will be deleted.

Immigration Watch International (2)

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Nearly 500 migrants come ashore in Florida Keys, forcing major park to close

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