23 Cuban Illegals Land in Mona and Monito Islands

Aguadilla, Puerto Rico – Between Sunday and this morning, 23 aliens, claiming to be Cuban citizens, landed in both Mona Island and Monito Island after entering illegally into United States territory.

On Sunday Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Border Patrol agents were notified by Park Rangers of the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of an incursion of a group of nine alleged alien Cubans that arrived in Mona Island from the Dominican Republic.

Today at noon, the Ramey Border Patrol Station received a call from the United States Coast Guard reporting an incursion on Monito Island.

USCG Cutter Key Largo stated that 14 subjects, 11 males and three females, had made landfall in the early morning hours, and identified themselves as Cuban nationals.

USCG Cutter Key Largo transferred the group to the Mayaguez Port where Border Patrol agents assumed custody and transported the Ramey Border Patrol Station to conduct the appropriate immigration interviews.

After admissibility processing at the Border Patrol Station, the 23 Cuban adults will receive a Notice to Appear (NTA) before an Immigration Judge, for further proceedings under the Cuban Migration Agreement of 1995 and the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966.

About the Wet Foot, Dry Foot Policy

The wet foot, dry foot policy is the name given to a consequence of the 1995 revision of the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966. After talks with the Cuban government, the Clinton administration came to an agreement with Cuba that it would stop admitting people found at sea. Since then, in what has become known as the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, a Cuban caught on the waters between the two nations (i.e., with "wet feet") would be sent to the place of embarkation. One who makes it to shore ("dry feet") might remain in the United States.

About the Caribbean Border Interagency Group (CBIG):

The concept of CBIG resulted from a March 2006 collaboration of local Homeland Security components that effectively stemmed the increased flow of traffic across the Mona Passage between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. In July 2006, CBIG is organized of such agencies as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Police Department’s Joint Forces for Rapid Action (FURA, for its Spanish Acronym).

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.