A resident park ranger on Adams Key was awakened by the sound of people talking on his front porch just before 3 a.m. on Sunday, May 13th. Upon checking, he found 37 Cuban migrants who had recently been dropped off at the government dock on Adams Key, located approximately 10 miles from the mainland. The group consisted of men, women and children, all of whom were in good health. They said that they’d all been on a raft, but that they’d been picked up by a good Samaritan and taken to the dock. Since they were all dry and well dressed, their story did not seem plausible. Two other rangers arrived shortly thereafter, as did a Coast Guard vessel that took the migrants to park headquarters. They were handed over to Border Patrol officers at daybreak. Because of the government’s "wet foot, dry foot" policy, all will likely remain in the United States. Under that policy, anyone caught on waters between Cuba and the U.S. is sent home or to a third country, whereas anyone who makes it to shore gets a chance to remain in the country and later apply for permanent residence status and U.S. citizenship.
