Sri Lankan held after entering US by boat
September 23, 2014 04:10 pm
A Sri Lankan national is among 10 people from four different countries who were in federal custody after a suspected human-smuggling boat arrived on shore of the wealthy town of Manalapan in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States early Monday, according to border authorities.
The migrants, none of whom had any documentation to enter the U.S. legally, included two Cubans, two Jamaicans, five Haitians, and one Sri Lankan, said U.S. Border Patrol agent Frank Miller. One of them was a child who was accompanied by one of the adult passengers, he said.
The smuggling vessel, a 14-foot go-fast boat powered by an 80-horsepower engine, landed in the 1900 block of South Ocean Boulevard. It is thought to have originated in The Bahamas, Miller said.
Based on evidence from the operation, authorities suspect another smuggling operation also landed somewhere in South Florida early Monday, Miller said. Late Monday, no other migrants had been taken into custody.
An increasing number of maritime smuggling operations have been thwarted by federal law enforcement, say officials with Border Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard.
“This fiscal year we have experienced an increase in human smuggling through the maritime approach,” Miller said.
While it’s common for Cubans, Jamaicans, and Haitians to try to enter the U.S. by boat, the presence of a Sri Lankan person is “unusual,” Miller said, adding that investigators were hoping to glean more information by interviewing the migrants.
The migrants were taken into custody and were being processed, Miller said. Federal law allows Cubans who arrive on American land to become permanent residents on a path to citizenship. The others’ cases will be considered individually, Miller said.
Under federal immigration law announced after the 2010 Haitian earthquake, Haitians in the U.S. who don’t have serious criminal records can apply to stay in the U.S., The Sun Sentinel reports.
The migrants, none of whom had any documentation to enter the U.S. legally, included two Cubans, two Jamaicans, five Haitians, and one Sri Lankan, said U.S. Border Patrol agent Frank Miller. One of them was a child who was accompanied by one of the adult passengers, he said.
The smuggling vessel, a 14-foot go-fast boat powered by an 80-horsepower engine, landed in the 1900 block of South Ocean Boulevard. It is thought to have originated in The Bahamas, Miller said.
Based on evidence from the operation, authorities suspect another smuggling operation also landed somewhere in South Florida early Monday, Miller said. Late Monday, no other migrants had been taken into custody.
An increasing number of maritime smuggling operations have been thwarted by federal law enforcement, say officials with Border Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard.
“This fiscal year we have experienced an increase in human smuggling through the maritime approach,” Miller said.
While it’s common for Cubans, Jamaicans, and Haitians to try to enter the U.S. by boat, the presence of a Sri Lankan person is “unusual,” Miller said, adding that investigators were hoping to glean more information by interviewing the migrants.
The migrants were taken into custody and were being processed, Miller said. Federal law allows Cubans who arrive on American land to become permanent residents on a path to citizenship. The others’ cases will be considered individually, Miller said.
Under federal immigration law announced after the 2010 Haitian earthquake, Haitians in the U.S. who don’t have serious criminal records can apply to stay in the U.S., The Sun Sentinel reports.
