National park in Florida closed due to hundreds of illegal immigrants who made their way into its territory
Dry Tortugas National Park announced a closure on Jan. 2 after hundreds of migrants who landed across the region in the past couple of days impacted park operations, reports ABC.
A statement released by the park said it will be "temporarily closed to the public while law enforcement and medical personnel assess, care for, and coordinate transportation to Key West of the approximately 300 migrants who have arrived at the park in the past couple of days."
A spokesman for the US Coast Guard did not confirm whether the National Park's estimate of the number of migrants arriving was correct, but said the Homeland Security Task Force is currently rescuing several migrants from the uninhabited islands in the park.
"The Homeland Security Task Force is aware of several migrant landings this weekend in the national park. Dry tortugas and Marquesas. The U.S. Coast Guard and partner federal and local units in HSTF-SE are coordinating efforts to return people currently stranded on remote uninhabited islands,” said Adm. security.
On the subject: Truck drove into a herd of bison near Yellowstone, killing 13 animals
National Park Dry tortugas is located 112 km west of Key West, Florida and is a 258 square km park accessible only by boat or seaplane. It consists of seven small islands.
"The closure is expected to last several days," the park said in a statement.
“As elsewhere in the Florida Keys, the park has recently seen an increase in the number of people arriving by boat from Cuba and arriving on the islands of the national park Dry tortugas. Park first responders provide food, water and basic medical care until the Department of Homeland Security arrives and takes the lead,” the statement said.
Enid Magary said he camped in a national park Dry tortugaswhen I saw groups of migrants arriving at the shore.
Like the article? Support ForumDaily!?
"I set up camp in Dry tortugas for the New Year. When we arrived on December 31st there were about 80 migrants, by noon on January 1st there were about 300 and we were told that we needed to leave the island. I personally witnessed 4 such landings,” wrote Magari on Twitter.
Here is one chug landing ~8am New Year's Day. The shouts of relief and tears of joy will stick with me for the rest of my life. pic.twitter.com/xeSxxB7SKx
— Enid Magari (@enidmagari) January 2, 2023
One video taken by Magari shows a row of ships in the sand.
“Their cries of relief and tears of joy will accompany me for the rest of my life,” wrote Magari on Twitter.
You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read it all on ForumDaily New Y.
Migrants are given food and first aid. They will first be turned over to federal law enforcement agents in the Florida Keys, Admiral McPherson said.
“From there, they will be transported to be processed by U.S. Border Patrol regional stations to determine their legal status. They will either remain in the United States or be processed for removal to their country of origin. Illegal, illegal sea migration is always dangerous and very often deadly. You shouldn’t do this,” he said.
Read also on ForumDaily:
Difficulties and opportunities: how Russians can get to the US, given the new restrictions
Second strong earthquake hits near San Francisco: short but intense
Subscribe to ForumDaily on Google NewsDo you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.