LARGE NUMBERS OF CUBANS AND HAITAINS ARRIVING IN FLORIDA
According to the Florida Border Patrol, the past four months have seen people arriving from Cuba and Haiti in numbers much larger than seen in several years. In that time period, over 1,000 people have been detained. Many years do not see that many detentions. Michael Nicley, deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol calls the increase "substantial," but says that "in no way, shape or form are the Border Patrol services overwhelmed at the point." Dan Geohegan, assistant chief of the U. S. Border Patrol in Florida suspects one of the reasons for the increase is that the governments of Cuba and Haiti are not seriously trying to prevent people from leaving. Cuban diplomat Luis Fernandez says the Cuban government is abiding by their agreement with the U.S. to try to stop migrants, but they are lured there nonetheless by smugglers based in the U.S. and by the fact that if they can make it to U.S. soil they can remain. The Coast Guard reports picking up twice as many Haitians at sea as Cubans, while the Border Patrol reports twice as many Cubans as Haitians actually landing. This is in part because once Cubans arrive in the U.S., they are met with a favorable asylum policy, so they tend to turn themselves in. Haitians who are caught at sea are returned to Haiti, and those who are caught in the U.S. are subject to medical testing and detention. 
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