During the holiday weekend, hundreds of migrants landed in Dry Tortugas National Park, about 70 miles west of Key West, Fla., in the Gulf of Mexico. Tourists walk along the sea wall surrounding Fort Jefferson in the park in February 2016.
Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images
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Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images
During the holiday weekend, hundreds of migrants landed in Dry Tortugas National Park, about 70 miles west of Key West, Fla., in the Gulf of Mexico. Tourists walk along the sea wall surrounding Fort Jefferson in the park in February 2016.
Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images
The US National Park Service closed Dry Tortugas National Park in the Florida Keys after hundreds of people migrated to the archipelago over New Year’s weekend.
The NPS temporarily closed the park Monday morning after an estimated 300 migrants landed in the park, according to a news release. liberate, release, free. It said the park has seen an increase in people arriving by boat from Cuba.
“The closure, which is expected to last several days, is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to care for the migrants,” the NPS said.
First responders at the park are providing food, water and basic medical needs until the arrival of the Department of Homeland Security, the statement noted. Ferry and seaplane services due to operating concessions are temporarily suspended.
About 70 miles to the west of Key West, Fla., the 100-square-mile park includes seven small islands accessible only by boat or seaplane. It’s about 100 miles north of Havana, the capital of Cuba.
When Cuba experiences The worst recession in decadesCubans are coming to America in record numbers. US government record more than 220,000 Cubans at the US Southwest border in fiscal year 2022, an increase of nearly 500% from the same period in 2021. Experts call it biggest migration from Cuba in history.
More than 160 refugees landed mainly in the Middle and Upper Keys in addition to 300 in Dry Tortugas, Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement on Monday. Sheriff Rick Ramsay called it a “humanitarian crisis” created by “federal failure”.
“This shows the federal government’s lack of a plan to work to address the foreseeable mass migration problem,” Ramsay said.
