The United States Coast Guard detained close to 400 Haitian migrants near the Bahamas on Saturday – one of the largest human smuggling incidents in the region as of late.
According to the Bahamas Department of Immigration, the 396 migrants were detained close to Cay Sal Island between Florida and Cuba. All those detained are to be processed in Inagua and repatriated to Haiti.
The coast guard's southeastern branch confirmed the anti-smuggling operation through Twitter on Monday, attributing it to the USCGC Legare medium endurance cutter helmed by Commanding Officer Jeremy Greenwood and his crew.
U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Nicole Groll told The Associated Press that the vessel "was grossly overloaded and very much unsafe," with passengers crammed into an area of only around 50 feet.
Sources on the ground indicated to the Miami Herald that the hundreds of migrants were likely headed to the Florida Keys archipelago off the state's southern coast.
It comes as more than 2,000 Haitians and 5,180 Cubans have been intercepted by the USCG attempting to enter the country illegally by boat since the beginning of October, per the Herald.
The Biden administration, citing a 1950s-era program, has offered humanitarian parole for 30,000 people a month from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela in response to the ongoing surge of illegal migrants.
In addition, President Joe Biden has pledged to ramp up security at the southern U.S.-Mexico border while giving border agents broader authority to utilize U.S. Code Title 42 Section 265, a provision that permits expulsion based on threats to public health.
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