boatlift

American  

[boht-lift] / ˈboʊtˌlɪft /

noun

1. an operation in which large numbers of people or vast quantities of supplies are transported by ships or boats in an emergency.

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Etymology

Origin of boatlift

boat + lift, perhaps modeled on airlift

Example Sentences

In 1981, Alcatraz was one of 14 sites considered by the Reagan administration to hold up to 20,000 refugees who had fled from Cuba to Florida in the famous "Mariel Boatlift".

From BBC

The term later was used to denigrate Cubans who sought to flee the country during the short Camarioca boatlift of 1965 and on the ensuing Freedom Flights that brought 250,000 Cubans, including my family, to Miami through 1971.

From Seattle Times

Another formative experience was watching protesters target colonial buildings during the turmoil of the Mariel boatlift, a massive migration of Cubans to Florida in 1980.

From Los Angeles Times

In 1980, more than 100,000 Cubans arrived there as part of the Mariel boatlift.

From New York Times

Congress created a formal refugee system decades later, but the federal government has continued to use parole to respond to emergencies, such as to quickly grant entry to 125,000 Cubans who arrived in Florida during the 1980 Mariel boatlift and to Haitian orphans left homeless by a January 2010 earthquake.

From Washington Post