MORE THAN 100 HAITIAN MIGRANTS LAND IN THE KEYS

Dilapidated Sailboat Grounded Near Tavernier

JIM McCARTHY jim@keysweekly.com

Oleander Drive resident Mike Diaz took out his phone and went to his balcony to videorecord a breathtaking Florida Keys sunrise the morning of Feb. 9. He slowly panned his camera to the left and noticed a surprise off the Tavernier shore.

As Diaz took a closer look, he noticed a large sailboat carrying what appeared to be migrants. The boat grounded just off the shore of Tavernier around 7 a.m. A total of 114 Haitian migrants jumped ship and swam to a private residence at the end of Oleander Drive.

Diaz’s video captured the moment they reached land, shouting for joy following a lengthy journey from a country that’s been afflicted by gang violence.

“They were super happy,” Diaz said.

A Haitian appearing in front of Diaz’s camera expressed his excitement after touching U.S. soil. Diaz said the event happened quite fast.

“I stepped out for two seconds right when I woke up, and I saw this big sailboat coming,” Diaz said. “And I was like, what?”

Diaz said it’s the second time the Tavernier neighborhood has witnessed a migrant landing. Not long ago, a Cuban chug arrived in the same vicinity.

U.S. Customs & Border Protection agents were assisted at the scene by the U.S. Coast Guard, a number of Florida Highway Patrol troopers, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation officers and Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies. By 9 a.m., a U.S. Homeland Security bus arrived to load the Haitian migrants, a majority of them being males, for processing. Migrants walked from the property to the bus as they smiled and put the thumbs up as neighborhood residents watched from the side.

It’s the first major landing since Gov. Ron DeSantis activated the Florida National Guard on Jan. 6 following an influx of migrants from Cuba and Haiti to start 2023. The move by DeSantis came after federal, state and local resources were overwhelmed by the arrival of roughly 300 migrants at

Dry Tortugas National Park located 70 miles west of Key West. Since August 2022, federal, state and local law enforcement agencies have encountered more than 8,000 migrants in the Florida waters.

Various law enforcement agencies, from Florida Highway Patrol to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, were deployed to respond to migrant landings in the Keys. DeSantis said he activated more resources due to what he called President Joe Biden’s “lawless immigration policies” that burdened local law enforcement. Personnel, airplanes and helicopters were deployed, as well as more marine patrols by Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Last month, the Biden administration shifted its immigration policy in an attempt to slow the flow of migrants from the southern border and the Florida shores. New rules detail the expedited removal of migrants who illegally enter the U.S. They would also be subject to a five-year ban from attempting to reenter the U.S.

Haitians and Cubans seeking to legally enter the country would need to pass health and background checks, have someone in the U.S. to sponsor them and arrange their own air travel.

On Feb. 10, the Florida Legislature approved a measure, Senate Bill 6B, to give DeSantis the ability to relocate migrants who arrive in the state wherever he sees fit. Legislation, which is expected to be signed by the governor, allocates $10 million for the state Division of Emergency Management for what’s known as the Unauthorized Alien Transport Program. State Rep. John Snyder, a Republican from Stuart, sponsored the bill. He said he wanted to give the administration as much flexibility as possible to relocate the migrants.

“I trust the folks in the Department of Emergency Management to continue to exemplify the Florida way,” he said on the floor. “We’re giving them the flexibility to address each scenario on a case-by-case basis.”

DeSantis has until Feb. 25 to sign the bill.

I think it is wonderful that our city council has agreed to have a second meeting each month to discuss issues or ideas with the residents of Marathon. The first meeting on vacation rentals was a sellout with standing room only. However, I believe we can improve the format to make the meetings even more productive.

These workshops were designed for the council to interact with the residents, and more importantly, with each other. These meetings should be a forum for open discussion between the council members as opposed to how the first meeting was arranged. That meeting was run by our city manager and city attorney and not by our mayor.

A few days ago, Vice Mayor Still told me she took notes for reference at the meeting and informed me that the city hired two part-time individuals to work for code enforcement on the weekends. That is a wonderful first step! In fact, a giant first step! However, I believe it is just the first as we still have miles to walk before these issues are resolved.

In the future, I suggest the mayor consider running these meetings like he runs the monthly council meetings, and the issues raised should be discussed by both our locals and council members so council can discuss and suggest the next steps. After all, aren't we better off having the council collaborate with each other twice a month to set policies instead of once a month? To me, that is a big win.

In reading the next agenda, it appears the open discussion on vacation rentals will soon be finished. I trust that is not the case. The issues with how the city regulates vacation rentals, licensing and the issuance of fines need to be thoroughly vetted by the council so we have a chance to improve and update these important issues.

I urge our council to take a positive step forward by henceforth having the mayor chair the meetings and begin collaborative discussions with other council members. In this way, they can efficiently discuss the issues among council members in the sunshine, explore solutions and focus on improving the way things are accomplished in Marathon.

Mayor Gonzalez promised action as the last meeting closed. That is a powerful statement! We are all for that!

Sincerely,

Michael Leonard

Full-time Marathon resident