Multimedia Release: Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, partner agencies respond to Haitian migration venture off Florida Coast

News Release

U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Southeast Contact: 7th District Public Affairs Office: 305-415-6683 After Hours: 786-367-7649 7th District online newsroom

Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, partner agencies respond to Haitian migration venture off Florida Coast

Editor's Note: Click on image to download high-resolution video.

Editor's Note: Click on image to download high-resolution version.

MIAMI — Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and partner agencies responded to a grounded Haitian vessel Sunday, approximately 200 yards off Ocean Reef in Key Largo, Florida. 

Coast Guard, CBP and partner agencies rescued 356 Haitians from the vessel and no injuries were reported. A good Samaritan notified Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders Sunday, at approximately 1 p.m., of a blue Haitian vessel grounded off Ocean Reef. 

"We worked seamlessly with our state and federal partners to safely remove all the persons from this vessel." said Capt. Jeffrey Randall, Chief of Staff, Coast Guard Seventh District. "The Coast Guard and partner agencies are continuously patrolling the Mona Passage, Windward Passage, Caribbean Sea and the approaches to the United States to stop these dangerous and unsafe voyages."

"The coordinated and timely response of the U.S. Border Patrol and our federal, state, and local partners potentially saved the lives of these migrants today," said Walter N. Slosar, Chief Patrol Agent, U.S. Border Patrol, Miami Sector. 

Agencies who assisted with the rescue:

• Station Islamorada
• Station Miami Beach
• Station Marathon
• Air Station Miami
• Cutter Robert Yered
• Cutter William Trump
• Cutter Venturous
• U.S. Border Patrol
• Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations
• Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
• Monroe County Sheriff's Office
• Miami-Dade Fire Rescue
• Biscayne National Park Service
• Ocean Reef Police Department

Since Oct. 1, 2021, Coast Guard crews have rescued 1,152 Haitians compared to:  

• 1,527 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2021
• 418 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2020
• 932 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2019
• 609 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2018
• 419 Haitian Migrants in Fiscal Year 2017 

Once aboard a Coast Guard cutter, all migrants receive food, water, shelter and basic medical attention. Migrants attempting to enter the United States illegally by sea can expect to be repatriated, regardless of their nationality.

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-USCG-