FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Some experts are calling for immigration reform following four migrant boats stopped on the Treasure Coast and in Palm Beach County in just one weekend.
According to the U.S. Coast Guard, one of the boats was stopped near Lake Worth Beach, while the other three were in the Fort Pierce region.
"I saw all of the government rolling into the inlet, lights, sirens, everything," said Connor Gillard.
Gillard said he saw one of the boats stopped near the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park around 10 a.m. Sunday morning, and said he saw what appeared to be federal agents and the Coast Guard chase it down.
“They were flying in pretty fast,” he said.
Retired immigration agent Neville Cramer said the sudden spike is a warning of what may be ahead.
“It's really indicative of what we're going to be facing in the future and it's going to be a lot more than that,” Cramer said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection data shows national interceptions are down about 90% compared to this time last year, but most of that drop is at the southern border. Cramer believes tighter enforcement there is pushing smugglers toward Florida’s longer, less-patrolled coastline.
“This is going to get even worse now that the southwest border is somewhat more secure than it ever has been,” he said.
Boynton Beach Immigration attorney Richard Hujber said he’s already seeing a surge in local cases, but argues the root of the problem isn’t open borders but a broken legal system.
“It’s certainly getting much, much more challenging and difficult,” Hujber said.
He says part of the problem he's seeing is a backlog of green cards, student, work and business visas taking longer to approve.
"It's just flooded with cases, they're hiring judges now desperately, because they have such a shortage of judges and a huge backlog of cases," said Hujber.
Hujber also said asylum cases are being thrown out, and said the "10 year law" is preventing people who self-deport from coming back legally within a reasonable time frame.
"If you've been here without status for more than a year, you cannot just leave and come back again and do it the right way. You've got a 10 year bar that you're not allowed to come back to the United States," said Hujber. "We’ve gone kind of from one extreme to the other. What’s lacking is middle ground.”
When asked if the U.S. is making it too difficult to come here legally, Cramer didn’t hesitate.
“Yes,” he said. “A lot of people tell them to go back home and get in line. Well, I’m afraid to tell you there is no line.”
Both Cramer and Hujber are now calling for immigration reform, warning that without change, the impacts won’t just stay at sea, but will be felt here at home.
"We obviously have to solve the problem," said Cramer. "This is going to get even worse."
Federal agents have not released who was on board the vessels, where they came from, or whether anything was seized.
WPTV is still working to get those answers.
All four cases are still under investigation.