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Dozens of migrants land in the Florida Keys on Thursday
Key West Citizen and Bait Wrapper ^ | February 11, 2005 | staff

Posted on 02/11/2005 1:46:57 AM PST by Elle Bee

Dozens of migrants land in Keys on Thursday

CITIZEN STAFF

A total of 51 Cuban migrants arrived in the Florida Keys on Thursday.

The first to arrive were 13 adult men, who landed on Gopher Key just off Spanish Main Drive on Cudjoe Key, said U.S. Border Patrol Agent Kerry Heck. The migrants arrived in an aluminum boat and waded ashore on Cudjoe Key, said Heck.

All were reported in good health.

Also on Thursday, a group of 38 Cubans made landfall in the Dry Tortugas.

The 21 adult men, 12 adult women, one young girl and four young boys, arrived on shore safely, Heck said. An investigation is underway to determine how they got from Cuba to the Dry Tortugas, she added.

Under the federal government's wet foot-dry foot policy, Cubans intercepted at sea are repatriated unless, like other refugees, they can convince an immigration judge of a credible fear of persecution in their homeland. Cubans who reach U.S. soil are allowed to remain in the country without going before an immigration judge.


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TOPICS: Cuba; Foreign Affairs; Government; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: aliens; bordersecurity; cuba; cubakeys; cubanrefugees; homelandsecurity; immigration; refugees
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"Everyone comes to the Keys in season" .... Michael McCloud

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1 posted on 02/11/2005 1:46:57 AM PST by Elle Bee
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To: freedom44

Cuba ping.

Thank God, they made it to shore without being intercepted by the Coast Guard.


2 posted on 02/11/2005 1:53:14 AM PST by FairOpinion
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To: FairOpinion

Amen....


3 posted on 02/11/2005 3:08:38 AM PST by OldFriend (America's glory is not dominion, but liberty.)
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To: OldFriend

It breaks my heart every time I hear that some poor Cuban refugees risk their life, they get close to Florida, but they are intercepted by the Coast Guard and sent back to Castro's repressive regime, while those from Mexico, who are not suffering from repression, just walk over and stay.

I am glad that they managed to get to land. I am also secretly hopeful that maybe the Coast Guard has new instructions to not look very hard.

I think Clinton's wet-foot, dry-foot policy is a travesty and should be repealed.


4 posted on 02/11/2005 3:12:49 AM PST by FairOpinion
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To: Elle Bee

they were smuggled. no way they could have made it, in good health, with the rough waters weve been haveing the past few days.


5 posted on 02/11/2005 3:18:12 AM PST by blackeagle
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To: blackeagle
last night's front and all of this wind may have spurred on the landings

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6 posted on 02/11/2005 5:06:50 AM PST by Elle Bee
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To: Elle Bee

Cool. More free Cubans!

Hopefully, Castro will put us all out of his misery soon. Did you see the swan dive he did like 2 weeks ago? It was great- Like a 9.7!


7 posted on 02/11/2005 5:10:32 AM PST by ovrtaxt (McClellan: Do away with daily press briefings! Come straight to the New Media!)
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To: ovrtaxt

OK - let me start by saying that I am truly sympathetic for those wishing to escape Castro and Cuba...BUT...

Are we not demonstrating a double standard when we welcome what are essentiall "illegals" from Cuba, but reject those other illegals from Mexico and Central America??? Many of those coming here from Central America were living in pretty bad conditions as well - regardless of the "form of government" there.

The only difference between the two groups is the politics of the country they are from.


8 posted on 02/11/2005 5:22:31 AM PST by TheBattman (Islam (and liberals)- the cult of Satan)
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To: OldFriend
Yes, you guys are so right...those poor poor people.... I think that we should get all of them ...bring them all here.

(/sarcasm)

9 posted on 02/11/2005 5:33:58 AM PST by Sassy_Sissy ( http://www.democratsindecline.com)
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To: Sassy_Sissy
Wondering if there is anything that you would risk your life for?

Or do you have everything you could ever want?

10 posted on 02/11/2005 5:40:10 AM PST by OldFriend (America's glory is not dominion, but liberty.)
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To: FairOpinion

It's interesting but few people feel that way about the Haitians or the Mexicans. We welcome some but not others. The criteria?


11 posted on 02/11/2005 5:40:51 AM PST by ladyjane
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To: TheBattman
Other than North Korea, I don't believe there is any other country that forbids it's citizens to leave.

Many tyrants allow emigration with the caveat that they not be allowed back into the country.

12 posted on 02/11/2005 5:43:51 AM PST by OldFriend (America's glory is not dominion, but liberty.)
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To: TheBattman

I agree 100%.


13 posted on 02/11/2005 5:44:31 AM PST by Mariposaman
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To: Elle Bee
This is wrong, not that people looking for a better life shouldn't be able to come to America but the fact that it doesn't an injustice to those who come hear legally and follow the laws of immigration. Castro once emptied his jails of murderers, rapists, and every other type of violent criminal he had on our shores along with the mentally ill on our public causing a new strain on our law enforcement, health care costs, and the government as a whole on a whole host of issues. Jimmy Carter let this happen and it was a disgrace. The Mexican problem is not that people come here in search of a better life, it is the incorporation of these people to our society so that they do so according to the law. We need strict border security to weed out the Terrorists, murderers, rapists, etc. that cause great harm to our country. Last, those who come here properly should be required to learn the English language as the first language to insure us against a break down of our culture and our economy. I remember it being reported that 6 to 8 of the 9/11 terrorist had drivers licenses and the right to vote.
14 posted on 02/11/2005 5:53:00 AM PST by TheForceOfOne (Social Security – I thought pyramid schemes were illegal!)
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To: TheBattman

A communist regime that tortures people is a whole different ballgame. Not only that, most Cubans are waiting to go back as soon as it opens up. At least as investors, if not residents.

I knew someone would bring the double standard up, but Cuba and Mexico are two different situations, at least to this Floridian.

Yes, I'm biased- against Communism.


15 posted on 02/11/2005 6:39:19 AM PST by ovrtaxt (McClellan: Do away with daily press briefings! Come straight to the New Media!)
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To: TheBattman

Oh, I almost forgot. These people aren't breaking the law when they come here.


16 posted on 02/11/2005 7:33:02 AM PST by ovrtaxt (McClellan: Do away with daily press briefings! Come straight to the New Media!)
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To: ovrtaxt

Not breaking the law? Then why does the Coast Guard try to catch them before they step foot on the beach?

And Cuba isn't the only dictatorship with a horrid human rights record. People living in several Central American countries deal with torture and awful conditions. Simply because they don't have a "big name" dictator who is a "sworn enemy" of the US, those people are unwelcome. Are their lives any better where they are from than the Cubans? I would wager that in many cases - the answer is no.

So - why are poor, oppressed (and possibly tortured) from one country shut out, while people living in very similar conditions in another country welcomed?

I just don't understand that logic.


17 posted on 02/11/2005 10:27:17 AM PST by TheBattman (Islam (and liberals)- the cult of Satan)
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To: ovrtaxt
Hopefully, Castro will put us all out of his misery soon.

My question is, when he assumes room temperature, will it end Cuban communism, or is it going to be business as usual?

18 posted on 02/11/2005 10:35:36 AM PST by Mark17
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To: TheBattman

Because it's a holdover sentiment from the cold war, and communist regimes have a track record of open hostility to the US and expansionist tendencies.

And the law reads that a Cuban who makes it to dry ground is safe, while a Cuban who gets caught in the water is struck out. It's a stupid law, IMO, but it's the law.

It happens to be a Clinton-era law. It effectively becomes yet another barrier for the Cuban who wants to escape Communism, because if he gets caught not only by the regime, but also by the USCG, he goes back to certain persecution. It's a sneaky way to make the Coast Guard an ally of Cuba, really. Typical crap from a commie sympathizer.


19 posted on 02/11/2005 2:05:10 PM PST by ovrtaxt (McClellan: Do away with daily press briefings! Come straight to the New Media!)
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To: TheBattman
The only difference between the two groups is the politics of the country they are from.

Darn big difference.

20 posted on 02/11/2005 2:07:23 PM PST by 1rudeboy
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