A group of 118 Haitian migrants landed in Key West early Wednesday morning, U.S. Border Patrol officials said.
Agents responded to the migrant landing at around 4 a.m., according to U.S. Border Patrol Acting Chief Patrol Agent Samuel Briggs II.
Briggs shared a picture on X of a sail boat that presumably transported the migrants.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
An image from the Monroe County Sheriff's Office showed dozens of people sitting down on the side of a road.
Briggs said first responders were evaluating people at the scene. Their conditions were not immediately known.
Authorities did not immediately say how they were alerted to the migrants, but Briggs said Border Patrol responded "with support from federal, state & local law enforcement partners."
Local
In March, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that he had assigned more officers and soldiers across several agencies to the Florida Keys "in anticipation of a potential influx of illegal immigrants from Haiti."
U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (FL-28) said in a statement that the "political unrest and rampant violence in Haiti have created the conditions for another mass migration surge that is directly impacting South Florida."
“Since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse three years ago, the Biden Administration stood idly by while Haiti descended into chaos,” the statement reads. “As the Representative for the Florida Keys, the security of our community is at risk of another mass migration event from Haiti due to the rampant gang violence and the mass release of thousands of violent criminals from the country’s jails... I demand the Biden Administration implement a comprehensive strategy to address the unrest in Haiti and prevent this security crisis from impacting South Florida families.”
