ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A man was taken into custody after deputies found 17 undocumented migrants on board an abandoned boat that washed ashore in St. Petersburg on Sunday.
The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area just south of the Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort at 8:30 a.m. after receiving a call about the migrants, according to deputies.
Deputies said the group of migrants appeared to be in good health as they were being processed, and there were no reported injuries.
Authorities are still investigating the incident and working to determine if the boat is involved in a Cuban migrant smuggling operation.
The discovery of the abandoned boat and its passengers comes a day before 10 Cuban migrants were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday after their boat capsized near Cuba.
In recent months, there has been a surge of Cuban migrants attempting to reach the United States by sea.
The U.S. Coast Guard has reported intercepting more than 6,000 Cuban migrants so far this fiscal year, which began in October. That’s more than the total number of Cuban migrants intercepted in the previous three fiscal years combined.
The increase in Cuban migration is likely due to a combination of factors, including the island’s ongoing economic and political crisis.
The Cuban government has blamed the United States’ economic sanctions for the country’s economic problems, while Cubans say the sanctions have had little impact on their daily lives.
The Biden administration has said it is committed to addressing the root causes of migration from Cuba, but it has also made clear that it will not tolerate illegal immigration.
In a statement last month, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that the U.S. would continue to enforce its immigration laws, but would also work to provide safe and legal pathways for Cubans to come to the United States.
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