What the end of Title 42 could mean for immigration to Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. — Last month, Channel 9 flew with the Coast Guard to see just what the migration situation looks like off the coast of Florida.

Lt. Commander Joshua Mitcheltree flies for the Coast Guard and has watched the numbers grow.

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“Two years ago it was much less,” he said. “It slowly picked up pretty good since this last year this time. It was pretty heavy.”

On our flight, Channel 9 saw a group of Cubans who left Cuba just hours before making their way on that 100-mile trek to the Florida Keys. It’s a sight the Coast Guard sees every day.

“Sometimes, you know, you get 15 or more on one,” Mitcheltree said. “Other times, there’s about five. I’d say the majority is more like 10-20 is what we generally see. Children? Sometimes yep, absolutely.”

Read: Migration to Florida puts strain on U.S. Coast Guard resources

It was not clear what Florida would see once the sun set on Title 42. But according to Immigration, Customs and Enforcement, there were no significant increases in migration in the days before or after the pandemic era policy.

Channel 9 worked with ICE this month as they continued to remove migrants. They have been preparing for weeks for whatever was to come.

The field office director of ICE said the federal government has taken new measures to try and prevent migrants from coming illegally even before this past week.

Read: Coast Guard rescues 65-year-old man who got stuck in mud while riding bicycle

“Cubans and Haitians interdicted at sea now become ineligible for the parole program, so if they’re interdicted and identified, then they would not be eligible to come back under the secretary’s patrol program,” Garrett Ripa said.

In an interview with the White House, officials predicted some chaos at the border before the expiration of Title 42, but did not say they expected a 50-percent decline in migration at the border in the days after Title 42 ended, but that is what the White House claims.

Read: Coast Guard crews rescue two after shrimp boat sinks off Florida Panhandle

But Department of Homeland Security officials gave one last reminder that the U.S. is going back to Title XIII rules and that the border is not open.

“What that means is when migrants come over and they have no eligibility to remain in the United States, they are removed and some can claim asylums one may be placed in removal proceedings,” Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Marsha Espinosa said.

Video: Channel 9 flies with Coast Guard on mission to rescue migrants The number of migrants coming to the U.S. through Florida continues to grow, pushing the Coast Guard to its limits. (Shannon Butler, WFTV.com)

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