MIGRANTS SNEAK INTO US WHEN THEIR BOAT LANDS AT CROWDED FLORIDA BEACH

• The group of three were filmed disembarking the 30-foot vessel early Saturday
• The unsanctioned entry occurred just before 8am, and left beachgoers stunned
• Those who had been on the part of beach in Hollywood spoke about the sighting

A group of migrants successfully sailed a boat into South Florida, before fleeing on foot.

The group of at least three were filmed disembarking the 30-foot sailboat after hitting the sands of Hollywood Beach Saturday morning, from parts unknown.

The unsanctioned entry occurred just before 8am, and left early morning beachgoers stunned.

People who were on the part of the beach near Coolidge Street where the boat appeared expressed awe over the situation, recalling how they thought those onboard were in need of help.

That changed when they saw that none of the group spoke English, witnesses told 7News Miami - and were in a rush to leave. The incident, currently under investigation, serves as the latest attempt from foreigners to circumvent US border security.

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'The sun came up, and them boys came up,' one Hollywood resident told the local outlet, as the 30-foot vessel remained off the coast Saturday night into Sunday morning - after crews spent an entire afternoon trying to remove it.

'We thought that something crashed or something, and 10 people jumped from [the] boat,' added another who gave his name as Leo, describing more migrants than the three seen in the clips circulating on social media.

'We asked, "Do you need help?"' he recalled. Their response? 'They [didn't] speak with us.'

Leo and other witnesses went on to call 911, after which Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies canvassed the area for migrants.

Officials with U.S. Customs and Border Protection also responded to the call to investigate, after some citizens told cops they believed the group originated from Haiti.

'I’m not shocked. It’s not the first time,' said one beachgoer under such an impression, fellow witness Jennifer DeJesus.

'I don’t blame them for coming here,' she added, pointing to the recent unrest occurring in the country.

Video plastered to social media, meanwhile, shows that at least three people struggling to make their way out of the sailboat, which had some noticeable damage to its hull.

Local news camera captured Hollywood police working painstakingly to remove the more than two-ton vessel Saturday, before giving up and leaving it moored on the beach.

The boat remained there well into Sunday, before being removed with excavators. 

Officials with the Department of Homeland Security who are handling the investigation have yet to say whether any of the men seen in the circulating footage are in custody. Their probe, as of writing, continues.

It comes a little over a month after Ron DeSantis announced he was sending more than 250 additional soldiers - and a fleet of aircraft and boats - to Florida's coasts to 'protect' the state  from vessels carrying Haitian asylum seekers, as unrest in the Caribbean nation continues into its third month.

The deployment, announced March 14, included 48 National Guardsmen, as well as four helicopters that will add to an already boisterous line of defense along the state's southern coast.

A further 39 officers from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 30 from Florida Highway Patrol, and 23 from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission also joined the front, along with a litany of aircraft and drones and eight boats.

The details of the deployment were provided by DeSantis' office, shortly after he himself took to X to announce the operation. Days before, the US deployed Marines to protect the US embassy in Haiti, as gang violence radiates across the country.

Armed gangs, led by warlord Barbecue, burned homes and exchanged gunfire with police for hours as hundreds fled the violence early on Thursday, after the country's transitional council announced its new prime minister, Fritz Belizaire. 

The attacks began late on Wednesday with the intensity focused on the neighborhoods of Solino and Delmas southwest of the main international airport.

'The gangs started burning everything in sight,' a man who gave his name as Nene, told PA Media. 

'I was hiding in a corner all night' Nene explained.  

On Thursday many families and individuals who had lost their homes in the previous nights attacks were seen walking through the streets clutching fans, stoves, mattresses and plastic bags filled with clothes.

Many fled by foot while others found other means of escape on motorcycles and small buses known as tap-taps. 

 Others were seen walking solemnly on, empty-handed, having lost everything in the fires. 

'There were gunshots left and right,' Paul Pierre, 47, told PA Media.

Pierre was search for shelter with his partner after their house was burned down leaving them no chance to save any of their belongings.  

The attack occurred in an area controlled by Jimmy Cherizier - aka Barbecue - the former elite police officer responsible for the recent months of unrest.

He controls the powerful gang federation known as G9 Family and Allies,  blamed for the coordinated attacks that began on February 29 across Port-au-Prince in protest of the previous prime minister not immediately leaving power.

More than 2,500 people have been killed or injured since, according to the UN, causing more than 90,000 people have fled Port-au-Prince in the last month alone.

Flights in and out of the war-torn nation have been grounded for nearly two months amid the relentless unrest. 

Gunmen have burned police stations, opened fire on the main international airport and stormed Haiti's two biggest prisons.

The attacks also forced prime minister Ariel Henry to resign and led to the creation of a transitional presidential council whose majority unexpectedly announced the new prime minister Tuesday. 

That announcement is already threatening to fracture the nine-member council, which was sworn in just last week. 

It is unknown if the recent group of migrants actually hailed from Haiti, but taking a boat around the border has become an increasingly popular tactic for migrants who want to sneak in illegally rather than claim asylum.

Last month, a dozen migrants zoomed into a beach in Carlsbad, a town about 30 miles north of San Diego - with the boat narrowly imssing what appeared to be a surfer in the water by a few feet as it zipped by and approached the beach.

After mooring the vessel on the sand, the migrants got out and sprinted towards a row of oceanfront houses before being picked up by waiting black SUVs.

The cars left in such haste that one woman almost fell out as it started moving.

Migrants can seek asylum in the US by crossing the border and immediately presenting themselves to law enforcement.

However, a smaller number sneak in to the country illegally with no intention of following the asylum process.

The recent incident, feds confirmed in a statement, is currently under investigation.

The migrants, meanwhile, remain at large. 

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2024-05-06T04:44:09Z dg43tfdfdgfd