Cubans migrants land motorized hang glider at Florida airport

Two migrants are under custody after they used a motorized hang glider to fly from Cuba to Florida.

The Cubans traveled nearly 90 miles from the communist island, landing safely at Key West International Airport on Saturday morning.

The two individuals were arrested by the Monroe County Sheriff's Office and turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

The ultralight aircraft's invasion of the airspace did not cause interruptions to operations at Key West International Airport, airport officials said.

Two Cubans were arrested at Key West International Airport on Saturday after they flew over from the communist island on a motorized hang glider. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson declined to tell DailyMail.com on Monday the status of the two men and said  that the incident is still under investigation

A motorized hang glider was used by two Cuban migrants to make the approximate 90-mile flight from the socialist-run island to Key West, Florida, on Saturday

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to provide DailyMail.com any information on the status of the duo and said that the incident is still under investigation.

Chris Ferrara told WSVN that he was shocked at the sight of the migrants' daring flight.

'Never seen this before', he said. 'I don't know if it's ever happened before. I've never heard of people crossing from Cuba in a hang glider.

Ferrara recalled the seeing the hang glider heading in the same direction where regular aircraft make their landings.

'It was going overheard. I knew it shouldn't be there; it was right in line for the landing approach of commercial airlines,' he said. 'I imagine it blew them quite across. It's a dangerous crossing, whether you are by water or air, especially in this wind in a little hang glider.'

An airport worker stands near the motorized hang glider used by two Cuban migrants to make the approximate 90-mile flight from the communist Caribbean island to Key West on Saturday

A hang glider was used by Cuban migrants to illegally migrate into the United States on Saturday

The brazen flight across ocean waters comes after 29-year-old Cuban migrant, Ruben Martínez, landed a small Soviet-era plane at Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport on October 21, 2022.

The Cuban pilot was arrested and received asylum in February.

The rise in Cubans fleeing the communist-run Caribbean island has been sparked by to the lack of basic goods, restrictions on civil liberties and the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Cuban were previously permitted to remain in the United States under President Bill Clinton's 'wet foot, dry foot' 1995 policy which revised the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act.

The legislation also afforded them the eligibility to become residents within a year.

However, President Barack Obama ended the immigration policy in January 2017, signing an executive decision that put an end the longstanding law that granted permanent residency to Cubans reaching the country.

According to CBP figures, agents have reported 113,394 encounters with Cubans illegally crossing the southwestern border so far in fiscal year 2023 – October 2022 to February 2023.

By comparison, officials reported 220,908 encounters with Cubans at the southern border in fiscal year 2022, which spanned from October 2021 to September 2022.

The U.S. Coast Guard has intercepted 5,862 Cuban migrants at sea in fiscal year 2023, on pace to surpass the 6,182 interdictions reported in fiscal year 2022. 

Until January 5, Cuban migrants arriving at the northern border of Mexico obtained permits that granted them entry into U.S. territory, assuming there was a credible fear that prevented them from returning to the island.

Within month they normally received refugee benefits and a year after that the protection of the Cuban Adjustment Act.

Then the President Joe Biden administration unveiled its new policy: 30,000 migrants will be accepted each month from Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Haiti. 

The migrants are allowed to remain in the country for up to two years but must have a sponsor already in place in the U.S. Those who risk reaching the borders without permission would be deported and not be able to enter U.S. territory for five years.