They caught the Haitians but 2 Cubans groups make landed after being smuggled in. Isn't it amazing how many Haitians get caught at sea but for some reason many Cubans don't. At sea it shouldn't matter where the people are from and they should all be apprehended. Smuggling of people is illegal and it shouldn't make a difference where they are from.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/ ... 2604.story

Coast Guard stops 78 Haitians in overloaded boat, but Cuban groups reach U.S.

By Macollvie Jean-François and Ruth Morris
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted April 10 2007


U.S. Coast Guard patrol officers stopped 78 Haitians fleeing their country in a "dangerously overloaded" homemade boat, an agency spokesman said Monday, while two smaller groups of Cuban immigrants landed on South Florida shores.

The Haitians left in a 37-foot sailing vessel and had reached the Windward Passage between Haiti and Cuba when officers saw them early Sunday, said spokesman Petty Officer 3rd Class Barry Bena. "For the size of the vessel, when you have more than it's supposed to carry, [it] becomes very unstable," Bena said. Because the boat was so close to Haiti, Bena said, the Haitians are likely to be turned over to authorities back in their country.

Meanwhile, border patrol authorities reported 40 Cubans landed on beaches in the Florida Keys around dawn Monday. A group of 30 appeared near Marathon about 5 a.m. in what "appeared to be a `go-fast' smuggling event," said Miami assistant chief Victor Colon. Go-fast boats are large speedboats generally belonging to U.S.-based smugglers who charge thousands of dollars per person to bring immigrants to the United States.

An hour later, border patrol agents responded to a landing of 10 Cubans in north Key Largo. The group (five men and five women) said they'd been at sea for three days and showed signs of exposure to the sun, authorities said. Cubans who set foot on U.S. soil generally are allowed to stay and apply for green cards a year later. U.S. authorities repatriate Cubans interdicted at sea.

Attempted sea crossings are fairly common off South Florida shores despite authorities' attempts to discourage the practice. The dangers involved came to the forefront on March 28, when 101 Haitians arrived in Hollywood Beach famished and dehydrated on an old sailboat. They remain in federal custody pending deportation proceedings and potential asylum claims.