12 Haitian migrants apprehended; one discovered dead on Florida Beach
Authorities found 13 undocumented Haitian migrants connected to the suspected smuggling vessel. One of the migrants was found dead and floating in the water nearby, according to WPFB. It's not yet clear how or when they died.
Legal authorities are investigating an attempted migrant landing involving a 28-foot boat in Jupiter Beach, Florida.
The vessel was first spotted on Wednesday near midnight. It appeared 40 yards offshore near the Jupiter Reef Club, an oceanfront property, WPTV reported.
The boat remains on Jupiter Beach, according to WPEC. The beach is located 16 miles north of Palm Beach, a popular vacation destination. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, CBP, Jupiter police and the Department of Homeland Security are all investigating.
Three Haitian men jumped overboard as U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials approached the vessel. Though CPB apprehended all 12 living migrants, they reportedly questioned two of them for further information.
The incident marks the second time this month and the fifth time this year authorities have discovered a vessel smuggling Haitian migrants in Florida.
On March 25, police apprehended 25 migrants who came ashore near South Palm Beach just after midnight. The group had five children, including two 9-year-old girls, an infant boy, a 17-year-old boy and a 2-year-old girl, the Post reported.
The Haitian immigrant population in the U.S. has grown from 92,000 in 1980 to 687,000 in 2018, MPI reported.
According to the Migration Policy Institute (MPI), Haitians have increasingly migrated to the U.S. and other Caribbean and South and Central American countries. Political instability, widespread poverty and natural disasters have prompted migration.
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