Vacation Hot Spot Used As 'springboard' For Illegal Immigrants: Expert

The renowned crystal-clear waters of nan Bahamas enactment arsenic a "springboard" for illegal migration to South Florida, an master said.

Fox News Digital said pinch retired Rear Adm. Peter Brown, erstwhile Homeland Security advisor to President Donald Trump, astir forbidden migration from nan Bahamas to Florida.

"Normally, erstwhile we deliberation of maritime migration, we deliberation astir Haiti aliases Cuba, possibly nan Dominican Republic, but nan chartless successful that equation is nan Bahamas," he said. 

"The Bahamas presents a typical case, not truthful overmuch because Bahamians want to get to nan U.S., though a fewer do, but because nan Bahamas ends up being a springboard for others who want to scope nan U.S."

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Miami Beach, Fla. (iStock)

Brown, who was nan commandant of nan Coast Guard's Seventh District successful Miami, said nan tropical archipelago serves arsenic a transit constituent for forbidden migration and quality smuggling owed to its surface science and tourism-friendly policies.

The Bahamas consists of much than 700 islands, pinch immoderate only 50 miles from Florida's coastline. The proximity, mixed pinch nan abundance of recreational boats, makes illicit recreation difficult to detect​, Brown explained. 

"In addition, nan Bahamas' system is truthful limited connected tourism they connection visa-free recreation to citizens of 160 different countries astir nan world," he said.

The readiness of visa-free recreation is successful crisp opposition to nan U.S., which allows group from only 40 countries to recreation visa-free.

"The quality is that nan Bahamas offers visa-free recreation to group from Russia, people from China, group from El Salvador, Guatemala, from Venezuela, from Nicaragua, from Jamaica, from Brazil," Brown said. "And location are galore group from those countries who want to travel to nan United States."

This enables individuals from these countries to participate nan Bahamas legally and effort forbidden introduction into nan U.S.​, he explained.

Mansions and luxury yachts on nan canals of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (Todamo/Getty Images)

Arrival areas successful nan US

Once they time off nan Bahamas, galore migrants target nan coastlines of South Florida owed to their proximity and nan beingness of established migrant communities, Brown said.

He said galore caput to Monroe County (Florida Keys), Miami-Dade County, Broward County, Palm Beach County, Martin and St. Lucie counties.

South Florida counties for illustration Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach person immoderate of nan highest surviving costs successful nan state, pinch median location prices often exceeding $500,000. Martin and St. Lucie Counties, which are much northern, are little expensive.

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After reaching nan "goal line," Brown explained, location is often a "cycle of crime" that continues.

"What often happens is that group paying migrant smugglers are already portion of nan organization connected nan Florida side, backing nan travel for a relative, family personnel aliases friend to scope nan United States," he said.  "This is often accompanied by a shape of indentured servitude, wherever migrants must activity to repay nan smugglers, creating a rhythm of crime that often goes unnoticed."

A alloy utilized by Cuban migrants is intercepted by nan U.S. Coast Guard. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Additionally, nan Bahamas' subject does not person nan resources to decently negociate nan immense maritime area, he said.

"Their Royal Bahamian Defense Force, while they're master and cooperative, peculiarly pinch nan United States Coast Guard, they conscionable don't person nan resources," he said. "They person nan balanced of 12 constabulary cars, boats, to patrol an area nan size of California."

Fox News Digital reached retired to nan Royal Bahamas Defense Force.

The Bahamian subject useful pinch nan U.S. Coast Guard, which allows nan agency to patrol nan h2o and airspace for supplier and migrant threats.

"That narration allows america to thwart those threats connected nan Bahamian broadside of nan straits alternatively than hold for them to attack nan Florida coast," he said.

While nan practice betwixt nan Bahamas and nan U.S. helps mitigate nan quality smuggling and forbidden migration threat, it does not eliminate it. 

A study from U.S. Customs and Border Protection summarized nationwide migrant encounters by period and by demographic group for fiscal 2022 done fiscal 2025 (to date, arsenic of April 3, 2025) successful nan Miami Sector.

Read nan Customs and Border Protection report:

From fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2024, full migrant encounters successful nan Miami Sector roseate from 2,766,582 successful 2022 to a highest of 3,201,144 successful 2023, earlier somewhat decreasing to 2,901,142 successful 2024. 

As of March, fiscal 2025, location person been 531,440 encounters recorded.

Notably, nan study highlights nan power of single-adult apprehensions, which fits really galore migrants get astatine nan Florida shorelines aft traversing nan 50-mile agelong betwixt nan U.S. and nan Bahamas.

Lighthouse guarding nan larboard of Nassau, Bahamas (iStock)

‘Thousands try, hundreds die’

Brown, who besides served arsenic Trump's typical typical for Puerto Rico's disaster recovery, said nan champion strategy is to deter migrants from making nan trip.

"The deterrent effect of President Trump, DHS Secretary [Kristi] Noem, separator czar Tom Homan and Secretary of State Marco Rubio is nan clear connection that the separator is closed," he said. "Illegal migrants will beryllium caught and repatriated, and nan crimes of quality smuggling and trafficking that travel this will beryllium vigorously prosecuted."

Brown emphasized nan quality costs of forbidden maritime migration and nan rationale down strict separator enforcement arsenic a life-saving strategy.

"Thousands try, hundreds die, because each twelvemonth we spot aggregate cases of folks capsizing, moving aground and group drowning," he said. "And it's very unfortunate. And truthful nan deterrence connection really saves lives."

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"If we can, by deterrence, forestall group from ever mounting sail, from hiring a migrant smuggler who has nary respect for quality life, if we tin do that, past we'll prevention lives, and we'll trim nan number of these vulnerable ventures."