A Surge at Sea: Migrants Seek Entry to the U.S. Aboard Flimsy Boats
The New York Times
Coast Guard officials said a search was still underway for 38 migrants missing after a boat capsized off Florida. The situation looked increasingly dire.
KEY WEST, Fla. — The maritime disaster that left rescuers still searching on Wednesday for 38 migrants lost at sea in the Florida Straits comes amid a surge in seaborne migration on both U.S. coasts as thousands of people board flimsy boats in a desperate attempt to reach the United States.
The makeshift boatlifts, carrying migrants from countries all over the world, present an unexpected and fresh challenge for the Biden administration, which was already facing a substantial increase in unauthorized crossings on the southern land border with Mexico.
The Coast Guard at times has intercepted more than 100 Cubans, Dominicans and Haitians crammed into a single boat in choppy Florida waters. On the other side of the country, smuggling networks have ferried loads of undocumented immigrants from Yemen, Mexico and Central America, sailing from Mexico to Southern California.
