So many people from Cuba are arriving in the Florida Keys that it could be days before federal officials can pick up migrants on the side of US 1 to be processed, according to local law enforcement.
Since Friday, more than 500 Cubans have arrived in the island chain. So many landed on a group of sparsely populated islands off Key West that the federal government was forced to close Dry Tortugas National Park on Sunday.
The situation frustrated the local authorities. Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsey issued a statement Monday calling the scenes unfolding on the side of the Keys’ only major highway a “federal failure” that is “creating a humanitarian crisis.”
“This shows a lack of action plan by the federal government to deal with the problem of mass migration, which was predictable,” Ramsey said.
Two groups of migrants — one with 19 people, the other with 12 — were basking in the sun on the side of US 1 on Duck Key in the Middle Keys Monday morning. As of noon, they said they have been standing there waiting to be picked up by U.S. Border Patrol agents since they arrived in two regular ships at 2:30 a.m.
Members of two groups of Cuban migrants from Matanzas — one with 19 people, the other with 12 — stand in the sun on the side of US 1 on Duck Key Island in the Middle Keys Monday morning. As of noon, they said they have been standing there waiting to be picked up by U.S. Border Patrol agents since they arrived in two country boats at 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
The groups’ de facto leader, 22-year-old Jorge Yunier Sepa Sanchez, stood by the mangroves, wearing a compass around his neck that he used to navigate the perilous journey from Matanzas, Cuba. He said they left early on January 1st.
“When we left it was easier, but when we got closer it got rough,” he said.
Although there was no indication when Border Patrol agents would arrive, many locals stopped by, leaving food, water and sodas. Others honked their car horns as they drove past in support of the recent arrivals.
Jorge Yunier Sepa Sanchez, 22, shows the compass he used to guide one of two groups of Cuban migrants from Matanzas — one with 19 people, the other with 12 — who were basking in the sun on the side of US 1 in the Middle Keys on Duck Key Island Monday morning. As of noon, they said they have been standing there waiting to be picked up by U.S. Border Patrol agents since they arrived in two country boats at 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
Emily Barrera, 18, and her mother, Julia Naranjo, 43, have helped several groups of migrants since the mass arrival began days earlier. On Monday, they left two cases of sodas.
“I feel bad for them, so we just decided to help them,” Barrera said. “On Saturday we helped some from Key Colony Beach. Then to Layton, Key Largo and Sombrero Beach.”
Members of two groups of Cuban migrants from Matanzas — one with 19 people, the other with 12 — stand in the sun on the side of US 1 on Duck Key Island in the Middle Keys Monday morning. As of noon, they said they have been standing there waiting to be picked up by U.S. Border Patrol agents since they arrived in two country boats at 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 2, 2023. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
This story was originally published on January 2, 2023, 12:21 pm.
David Goodhue covers the Florida Keys and South Florida for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald. Before joining the Herald, he covered Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy in Washington, DC. He graduated from the University of Delaware.
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