What to Know
- A Cuban democracy group is vowing to fight for two dozen Cuban migrants after a judge's decision to send them back this week.
Two days after a federal judge ordered two dozen Cuban migrants returned after reaching a lighthouse in the Florida Keys, one group is vowing to fight for them to stay in the U.S., as a letter that appears to have been written by the migrants and claims they were mistreated was found in a bottle.
In a statement, Movimiento Democracia said their legal team will continue the battle despite the fact that a temporary injunction was not filed Thursday morning, effectively paving the way for the migrants' return to Cuba.
The group believes that the migrants will be subject to persecution if they are returned to Cuba following their arrival over a month ago. They cited Judge Darrin Gayles’ ruling, in which he acknowledges Cuba’s "violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms."
Lawyers for the migrants argued that the lighthouse, which sits seven miles off shore, is property of the United States and thus part of the country’s “wet foot, dry foot” policy regarding those coming from Cuba, something Gayles said did not apply.
Movimiento Democracia said they will file a motion for an emergency stay of the judge’s ruling.
"The court believes it has no authority to prevent the return of these refugees to Cuba," attorney Kendall Coffey said. "In the meantime the judge has expressed the hope that the government would consider not doing so immediately and that the government would consider some form of access."
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Meanwhile, it was revealed Thursday that a fisherman found a message in a bottle that appears to have been written by the migrants. The message claims the migrants were mistreated while being detained on a Coast Guard cutter.
Coast Guard officials said the letter was determined to be authentic and said they are planning on launching an internal investigation.
"While this was a challenging situation for everyone involved given the extenuating circumstances, we take any report of improper treatment of migrants very seriously," the Coast Guard said in a statement. "The U.S. Coast Guard is a humanitarian service with a proud history of saving lives at sea. Our men and women have demonstrated tremendous professionalism, genuine empathy, and concern for the safety and welfare of all migrants interdicted. With respect to the 24 Cuban migrants recovered on American Shoal Lighthouse, they were treated with care, compassion and respect during the past five weeks."
