Mar-a-Lago
By Jerome Burdi of sun-sentinel.com
& the Associated Press
Posted January 25 2007, 11:00 AM EST
KEY WEST -- Nineteen Cuban illegal migrants came ashore in the backyard
of the home of Naval Air Station Key West's commander, officials said.
Also, nine Haitian migrants were apprehended about 6:30 a.m. Thursday in
the Mar-a-Lago area of the Town of Palm Beach after landing in a boat
and trying to escape on shore, the U.S. Border Patrol said. The police
notified federal authorities. The boat left from the Bahamas late last
night before ending up in Palm BeachCounty , Agent Peter Lobur said. No
one was injured and the migrants were being held at the US Border Patrol
Station in West Palm Beach, Lobur said.
In Key West meanwhile, the group of 12 men, five women and two children
was discovered Wednesday morning by an off-duty Defense Department
officer who was jogging on U.S. military property at Truman Annex, Key
West police said.
The officer knocked on Capt. J.R. Brown's front door, alerting him to
the situation and asking to use his phone to call authorities.
The group arrived in what appeared to be a homemade boat, police said.
Brown asked a Spanish-speaking neighbor to meet with the Cubans, who
``appeared to be in very good condition,'' he said.
The captain said he knew the arrival of Cuban immigrants near his
backyard was a possibility when he took the post within the past year.
Key West is only 90 miles from Cuba, and thousands of Cubans try to
reach the U.S. each year by boat.
The 19 were to be processed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Under U.S. policy, Cubans found on shore are generally allowed to stay,
while those found at sea are usually returned.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/cuba/sfl-125cubanskeywest,0,943194.story?coll=sfla-news-cuba
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