OPA-LOCKA, FLA. (WSVN) - A mission has taken flight from South Florida, and it has to do with the increasing number of migrants that have headed to our shores.
The Coast Guard has been searching the seas for migrants, and 7News sailed along with them for their latest operation.
It’s an incredibly dangerous journey for the migrants who have fled Haiti and tried to make it to South Florida.
Wednesday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard gave a bird’s eye view as hundreds of more migrants tried to reach the shore.
After a pre-dawn aircraft check, we set flight after sunrise.
The U.S. Coast Guard members that are part of the operation are based in Mobile, Alabama but are temporarily stationed in South Florida to help as migrant crossings surge.
The pilot was U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Brent Schiffer.
“The point of today’s mission is to go out and make sure that we are insuring the safety of the seas,” said Schiffer.
Within seconds after takeoff, we passed over Miami Beach. Thirty minutes later, flight members soared above 80 miles east of Marathon and hovered over a boat packed with migrants thought to have fled Haiti.
The migrants were inside Bahamian waters, so a Bahamian defense force boat was coordinating with the coast guard, and it is likely the Bahamians would transport them to the Bahamas for further processing.
“It’s scary, and I feel for the people. I mean, it really is something I can never imagine myself being in that position,” said Schiffer, “but we’re happy to be here to assist and help to make sure their safety is maintained.”
Two hundred and twenty migrants were on that ship we spotted.
It has become very common for the U.S. Coast Guard to find migrants in the Florida Straits by the hundreds. The coast guard has been running at least five flights similar every week.
“I truly do believe that we are the greatest country in the world because of the freedoms that we are afforded, and those people are in search of that,” said Schiffer.
Due to the political upheaval, gang violence and a faltering economy, many Haitians are desperate to leave home.
In the past six months alone, the coast guard has found on the water 2,284 migrants from Haiti, compared to just 127 migrants from Cuba.
When asked how seaworthy are the migrant vessels, Schiffer said, “Not very.”
In fact, a few hours after the migrant ship was spotted, Schiffer was called to fly back over it because it started taking on water.
Coast guard members said their mission is to make sure their dangerous journey doesn’t become deadly.
“There’s nothing more tragic than when someone losses their life on the sea, and our purpose here is to maintain that safety and security,” said Schiffer.
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