Border crisis overwhelming Florida Keys: 'Mass migration crisis'
Monroe County, Florida Sheriff Rick Ramsay on the Florida Keys feeling overwhelmed after boats of migrants arrive
A rural Florida sheriff said Wednesday there is a "mass migration crisis" in his county as boats full of migrants arrive to the Florida Keys.
Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay joined "Fox & Friends" to discuss local officials feeling overwhelmed with the influx of migrants.
"I'm having to pull resources all day long to respond to landings. We're diverting police, fire rescue, and we're dealing with just a mass migration for us. For a rural county, we consider this a mass migration," said Ramsay.
Southernmost Buoy Key West Florida (Key West Police Department)
Over the weekend, 300 migrants arrived at Dry Tortugas National Park, located west of Key West, the National Park Service said. On Sunday, park officials said the park has seen an increase in people arriving from Cuba, prompting its closure for the next several days.
"The closure, which is expected to last several days, is necessary for the safety of visitors and staff because of the resources and space needed to attend to the migrants," the park tweeted Monday. "Concession-operated ferry and sea plane services are temporarily suspended."
The U.S. Border Patrol Miami Sector encountered five migrant boats across the Florida Keys over the last 24 hours before New Year's Eve. Over the weekend, hundreds of migrants landed in the Florida Keys. (US Border Patrol Miami Sector/Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar)
The migrants were being given food, water and basic medical attention until the Department of Homeland Security takes the lead in caring for them.
Ramsay said the town had already seen an influx of migrants but said it has "ramped up" after "30-something" boat landings.
"I'm overall worried about the public safety of my citizens in Monroe. This does affect my ability to do my job to protect surf patrol and take care of my citizens," said Ramsay.
Ramsay described feeling concerned with the influx and said local Border Patrol agents are "overwhelmed."
"We actually had the other day we called for a pickup for a group of migrants," said Ramsay. "They were so busy, they told us they may not be able to arrive until the following day. So we're like, what are we supposed to do? Leave a group of women and children, kids on the side of the road for a day, day and a half with no bathrooms, no food, no shelter?"
Ramsay said despite feeling overwhelmed, they are trying to do what they can to help the migrants who are in a difficult situation.
"We're trying to get medical attention. We're trying to bring them water. We're trying to reassure them. We're trying to tell them the best of what we can tell them. But there's only so much I can do."
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The U.S. Border Patrol told the sheriff's office that a federal response to the migrant landings may have to wait a day, the sheriff's office said.
"Refugee arrivals require a lot of resources from the Sheriff’s Office as we help our federal law enforcement partners ensure the migrants are in good health and safe," Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay said. "This shows a lack of a working plan by the federal government to deal with a mass migration issue that was foreseeable."
Fox News' Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
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