Increasing migrant numbers cause for concern
(CNS): Another 15 Cuban migrants, all male, arrived in Cayman Brac around 9:15pm on Sunday night aboard the third boat to come ashore here this weekend. More than 40 migrants have landed in Cayman since the start of the year, and officials appear to be concerned that this may be the start of another surge in arrivals.
In a press release issued by Customs and Border Control on Monday evening, CBC Director Charles Clifford said that officials from various government agencies met Monday to discuss the situation.
“We are closely monitoring the increase in migrants arriving on our shores,” he said. “A multiagency meeting was convened this morning to discuss the recent migrations and strategies to effectively manage the situation as well as mitigate the associated risks.”
Clifford said that more information would be released Tuesday. However, so far there is no indication if the government is looking at ways to discourage the migrants from leaving Cuba or ways to speed up the asylum applications, which are allowed under international law, or the repatriation process for failed asylum seekers, which is dictated by an MOU signed with the Cuban government.
Over the last three decades, thousands of people have arrived here in a bid to escape the communist island nation, many in vessels that are clearly not seaworthy. There has been some speculation in the past, especially during previous surges, that some Cubans arriving here were dropped off near the Cayman Islands, having been transported most of the way by human smugglers, or were picked up after they leave.
In the meantime, the migrants who have already arrived are being temporarily held in quarantine in Cayman Brac in accordance with COVID-19 protocols as arrangements are made to move the group to Grand Cayman.
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Category: Local News
I personally think the legal immigrants coming here is of much more concern than these poor people who are trying to get away from a life of improvished means and trying to make a better life for themselves. Remember when Caymanians had to go to Cuba! How many went to Jamaica for a better life?
Sounds like Cayman is getting a small taste of what UK and US are going through. If you don’t protect your country’s borders you will feel the pain in many ways particularly crime.
Wait ’til the Haitians start!
Meh. Worry more over the gentrification over your lands.
Cuban migrants not the real concern. Few of them want to remain in Cayman. It’s the illegals from Jamaica who are a steady flow on the Jamaican drug canoes.
With a Joint Marine Unit, two helicopters, and full-time Coast Guard, most of their toys equipped with 100nm x/s band radar, FLIR, or better, how are ANY unknown landings possible in any of the Cayman Islands? What are we doing wrong that unknown vessels – be they drug boats, human migrants can so easily defeat our nautical perimeter/territorial economic zone waters, befuddling all agencies tasked with countering this, their steady approaches remaining undetected for many hours, and achieve successful landfall without any interception? Why has no agency head accepted/shared responsibility, resigned, or been fired for these repeated appalling lapses? Something certainly doesn’t smell right.
You new to Island?
We’ve learned recently that it takes a like-minded voter chorus to register dissatisfaction to those hard of hearing at the levers of power. Doing nothing or attacking those trying to change status quo, isn’t productive. It won’t register at the Coast Guard Board (if there is one), or instruct remedial action, or reassure the public and/or international observers, that our resources are being deployed responsibly and appropriately. In one weekend, there are three separate landing incidents,, and a fully-loaded drug canoe capsizing within the confined shelter of our North Sound, well inside the reef. There shouldn’t be any international vessel traffic appearing in our territorial waters and coming within 12 miles of any island without assets scrambled and those visitors being interrogated. There should be a heightened duty to be on alert for traffic arriving outside of expected arrival manifests and regular Port Authority hours. It’s completely unacceptable.
You bet is!
Perhaps we should just lose another boat and hope that all the cubans magically appear on it and sail to miami?
Don’t think they wouldn’t happily take one.