Cuban Migrants Heading To The U.S. On The Rise


(CBS4) MIAMI By smuggler’s boat or makeshift raft, the U.S. Coast Guard says the number of Cuban migrants stopped in the Florida Straits this year is on pace to top last year's total.

As of Friday, the Coast Guard had stopped 2,255 Cuban migrants which is about 40 shy of the number of interdictions last year.

Analysts disagree over what's causing more Cuban migrants to attempt to reach Florida by sea. Some say Fidel Castro's transferring of power to his brother Raul is the reason. Others say the increase is just a natural fluctuation in Cuban migration.

More Coast Guard patrols have pushed some Cubans to try to reach the U.S. by land through Mexico.

Cuban migrants who reach U.S. soil are allowed to stay under the so-called wet-foot/dry-foot policy. Migrants picked up at sea are generally returned to the communist island.

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