The first wave of two dozen officers with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement arrived Monday at a new temporary command center in Marathon in response to the record number of migrant landings.
Hundreds of migrants arrived in the Florida Keys over New Year's weekend, officials said. Many made the dangerous journey across the dangerous Florida Straits on makeshift, motorized rafts.
That led Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday to mobilize the Florida National Guard. The executive order would also allow the state to deploy airplanes, helicopter and marine patrols “to support water interdictions and ensure the safety of migrants attempting to reach Florida through the Florida Straits.”
On Monday, officers with other local and federal agents joined the FDLE at the Florida Highway Patrol station in Marathon, and officials said the National Guard is on the way.
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“When we have these increases, we kind of all come together and adjust tactics, strategies," said Adam Hoffner with the U.S. Border Patrol.
MIGRANT CRISIS
The state’s Division of Emergency Management is leading local, state and federal efforts to send help for the record number of migrant landings in the Florida Keys.
"We welcome the additional support from our law enforcement partners," Hoffner said.
The migrant situation has become overwhelming, Hoffner said. Since Oct. 1, migrant landings have increased by more than 650% compared to the same time last year in South Florida.
“Our agents are doing an incredible job working 24/7," Hoffner said.
Monroe County Mayor Craig Cates welcomed the help from both DeSantis' executive order and the Biden administration’s change in policy for seeking asylum.
“All of this is going to help deter that and help us if they do make landing," Cates said.
He thinks the announcement of the changes is already having an impact. As of Monday evening, zero landings were reported and there have been only five since Friday — compare that to the New Year’s Eve weekend when 300 migrants arrived at Dry Tortugas National Park alone.
“They used to be called refugees when it was 'wet foot, dry foot' leaving a communist country," Cates said. "Now since that has changed, they are migrants but to us, they are still refugees leaving Cuba and trying to have a better life.”
It's unclear when and where the National Guard will arrive, as officials are still in the planning stages.
