South Florida sees bump in migrant landings. Is another seasonal surge coming?

Groups of desperate people fleeing Cuba have landed at least twice this week in the Florida Keys — the latest seasonal uptick of migrants willing to risk their lives in rickety vessels for a shot at freedom in the United States.

But, for now at least, arrivals in December and the first days of January are down dramatically from the previous holiday season when so many people poured in — often with several landings a day — that it overwhelmed local law enforcement agencies in the Florida Keys and forced both Gov. Ron DeSantis and President Joe Biden to send in emergency reinforcements.