17 Cubans land in Lower Florida Keys

A group of 17 Cubans came ashore on Big Munson Island in the Lower Florida Keys Thursday morning.

The 15 men and two women sailed from Cuba to Florida on a “rustic vessel.” Their journey lasted three days, said Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Adam Hoffner. They were picked up by officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and federal agents with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Border Patrol.

Everyone in the group appeared to be in good health, Hoffner said. Big Munson Island is located in the Atlantic Ocean about three miles offshore of Big Pine Key.

The migrants were taken to the Border Patrol station in Marathon. Because they made it to shore, they’ll likely be allowed to stay in the United States. Under the so-called “wet-foot, dry-foot” provision of the Cold War-era Cuban Adjustment Act, Cubans who set foot on dry land can stay in the country and apply for permanent residency after a year. Those stopped at sea are taken back to Cuba.

The landing comes one day after the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Raymond Evans, based in Key West, took 62 Cubans back to their homeland. The migrants were part of eight separate groups stopped by authorities in the process of trying to reach south Florida during the past week, according to a Coast Guard press release.

Migrant landings and attempted landings have increased markedly since the Obama administration and the Castro regime began mending diplomatic ties over the past two years. Cubans fear that a friendlier relationship between the two governments could spell the end of their instant refugee status, and many are leaving before that happens.

The Coast Guard estimates 687 Cubans have tried to come to the southeastern U.S. by sea since Oct. 1, the beginning of the 2017 fiscal year. In fiscal year 2016, 7,411 either successfully made the journey, or were caught at sea. That’s up from 4,473 in fiscal year 2015.

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 3:29 PM with the headline "17 Cubans land in Lower Florida Keys."