Homeland Security chief says U.S. will not give refuge to those fleeing Cuba and Haiti by boat

People fleeing Cuba and Haiti by boat will not be allowed to enter the U.S., even if they demonstrate fear of being persecuted or tortured in their home countries, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned on Tuesday.

"Allow me to be clear: if you take to the sea, you will not come to the United States," Mayorkas said, highlighting the dangers of traversing the Caribbean Sea and the Florida Straits by boat.

Mayorkas, a Cuban immigrant who fled the island with his family in 1960, issued his stern warning in the wake of seismic political events that have rocked Cuba and Haiti in recent days.

In Cuba, large-scale protests erupted over the weekend, forming one of the biggest public demonstrations of dissent faced by the island's communist government. Meanwhile, in Haiti, the brazen assassination of President Jovenel Moise has thrown the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere into further political upheaval.