LIVING—in—America

Living in America is still considered something worth dying for.

The bodies surfaced 20 miles out from a popular South Florida beach: Four men, still youthful. Their remains were badly deteriorated, bitten by sharks, their faces unrecognizable.

One had a horseshoe-shaped scar on his head. Two bore tattoos: One of a spider, the other of a tiger with a flower. The fourth wore a pair of orange briefs and a gold-colored watch.

The Coast Guard delivered them to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office, where they remained for days, four more among the thousands who have died trying to cross the turbulent Florida Straits.

The remains of rafters that surface near the U.S. are often in such poor condition they cannot be visually identified. Politics makes the process even more difficult with Cuban migrants: Because of the five-decade diplomatic stalemate between the U.S. and Cuba, pathologists can’t get matching dental…