Two Cuban migrants took to the skies to enter the US illegally on Saturday when they used a motorized hang glider to fly to a Florida airport — before being taken into custody by the Border Patrol after landing, authorities said.
Border Patrol agents in the Miami Sector apprehended the two migrants after they landed in the device at Key West International Airport.
Chief Patrol Agent Walter Slosar said no injuries were reported in the incident and praised the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office for its assistance. The office said the incident happened at about 10:30 a.m. ET on Saturday.
The incident shows how far some migrants will go to gain entry into the United States. Migrants have used various methods of crossing the short distance, including small boats, to flee the communist regime in Cuba for decades.
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While much of the attention regarding border security and illegal immigration has focused on the land border between the US and Mexico, others have attempted to focus attention on both the northern and maritime borders.
In the Miami sector, where the migrants were caught, detentions have increased from about 1,000 in FY 2020 and FY 2021 to more than 4,000 in FY 2022 to more than 5,000 so far in FY 23, which began in October.
This week, the Homeland Maritime Security Subcommittee held a hearing on securing the oft-overlooked border. Chairman Carlos Gimenez said authorities were doing “tireless work” despite being put in an “untenable” position. He stressed that nearly 11,000 migrants have been repatriated since August 2022 after attempting to cross the Florida Straits.
March 25, 2023: Border Patrol agents stop migrants entering the US on a motorized hang glider. (Customs)
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Meanwhile, the US has also seen an increase in Cubans coming to the US southern land border this fiscal year. There were more than 220,000 encounters with Cubans at the southern border in FY 2022, up from 38,674 in FY 2021. To date, there have been more than 113,000 encounters in FY 2023.
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Cubans were one of several nationalities included in a humanitarian parole program expanded by the Biden administration in January, allowing up to 30,000 migrants a month from four countries to fly directly to the US. That was combined with an extension of Title 42 evictions to those who enter illegally.
Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.
He can be reached at [email protected] or at Twitter.
