34 Migrants Found Clinging to Overturned Boat off Coast of Florida Keys

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued 34 migrants Friday morning after they were found clinging to a partially submerged boat off the Florida Keys, according to local media reports.

U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson and Petty Officer Ryan Estrada said that a crew from the Coast Guard Station in Marathon pulled the migrants out of the water after their vessel sunk, the Miami Herald reported.

Captain Marty Lewis was 10 miles away offshore when he spotted the migrants and alerted the U.S. Coast Guard, Local 10 reported.

Officials are yet to determine the nationalities of the migrants rescued. Estrada said that “all are accounted for.”

Authorities said that the migrants will likely be returned back to their home countries once their nationalities are confirmed.

It was not clear whether anyone would be charged with criminal activity for transporting the migrants.

The U.S.-Mexico border has seen a surge in migrants over the past few months, creating serious challenges for cities like New York and Chicago where officials say they are experiencing a “migrant crisis” due to limited resources and shelters.

Since last October, the U.S. saw over 2.2 million migrants come across the border, according to the BBC.

The Migration Policy Institute recently said in a report that the number of migrants living in the U.S. under conditional or temporary status under the Biden administration reached record status.

Over 3.6 million migrants under parole have crossed into the U.S. over the last three years.