RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. — Two buses, with dozens of migrants, arrived Thursday at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection station in Riviera Beach.
Some were from Cuba making the long journey to be processed.
"He decided to come to the U.S. because there's no future there (in Cuba)," Louis Manuel Camejo said about his son. "There's no future for anyone."
Camejo said he last heard from his son on Saturday, and it wasn't until Thursday that he got word he's safe and heading to Riviera Beach.
"Imagine, the family is getting together and thanking God that he was able to bring us our son safe and sound into this country," Camejo said.
His son was one of 370 migrants held at Dry Tortugas National Park for almost a week and then transferred onto a U.S. Coast Guard cutter and sent to Key West. Seven chartered buses took them to various U.S. Border Patrol stations.
"Cuba, we don't have a repatriation policy with, so it's been very difficult for the government to send Cubans back, so they've typically been allowed to stay," immigration attorney Jeff Devore told WPTV.
He believes they were brought to Palm Beach County to help process the large volume of migrants.
"Typically, they would take their fingerprints, run a background check, look to determine if the person has been here before, were they previously here unlawfully and deported, and they're returning again unlawfully," Devore said. "Somebody like that would most likely be detained."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents said this is part of a growing influx of migrants who risk their lives.
Devore said it could take hours to process the migrants and decide whether they can be released or detained.
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that unvetted refugees and asylum seekers from four countries — Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Haiti — will be turned away.
Under a new "safe and humane" process, 360,000 from the four countries will be allowed to stay in the U.S. annually for the next two years if they have a qualified sponsor and if they pass a background check.