FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A group of Cuban migrants landed in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea at about 7:30 p.m. Monday in a boat with "Barack Obama 3 men 2," slang for Barack Obama the tremendous, written on the side.
The four men and two women landed in a beach area near Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, the Coast Guard reports.
One of the women is six months pregnant, authorities said.
"They came on shore kissing the ground," Aiden Salazar, a witness, said. "(They were) just thankful to be here."
One of the first people to see the Cubans arrive gave them a white Donald Trump cap that said "Make America great again."
That migrant, who'd been at sea for nine days, put on the cap, posed for photos and later sat on the sand smoking a cigarette.
Beach goers gave the group towels and bottled water.
"Other people brought them hamburgers and they said they didn't know what (it) was," Sabina Wallace said. "It's kind of strange but awesome."
Salazar is visiting from North Carolina and said he was in awe of the journey the group made and the risks they took.
The Coast Guard got a call about the migrants prior to their landing and launched a helicopter from Miami and a response boat to capture them. But the group reached land before authorities arrived.
Since the migrants made it to shore, they are able to stay in the United States under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy.