Florida Politicians Sound Alarm on Haitian Migration, but Coast Guard Confident in Ongoing Mission

MIAMI, Fla—Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Sen. Rick Scott, and their fellow Floridians in Washington have sounded the alarm on an anticipated influx of Haitian migrants making the journey to the Sunshine State.

The keyword appears to be “anticipated,” however, as the Coast Guard has reported no evidence that the influx is on its way.

“Florida is about to be hammered with a massive wave of Haitian migration,” Mr. Gaetz told The Epoch Times on March 18, further echoing concerns that the spike in gang violence and general destabilization of the Caribbean nation will spark this crisis.

He also said that, like those crossing the southern border, they will be able to make asylum claims if they reach American soil.

“Our state cannot handle thousands of Haitians showing up and congregating in these communities,” he said.

“Our jail can’t handle it. Our schools can’t handle it. Our hospitals can’t handle it. And, you know, the message from the Biden administration to Haiti should be don’t come, and if they don’t make this declaration, they’re essentially putting up a green light and leaving Florida to bear the brunt of a wave of people.”

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An official letter signed by Mr. Gaetz, Reps. Gus Bilirakis, Anna Paulina Luna, and Daniel Webster was sent to President Joe Biden’s desk on March 18.

“We write to request that you exercise your authority under 46 U.S. Code § 70051 and declare an “anticipated mass migration of aliens en route to, or arriving off the coast of, the United States” as urgent circumstances requiring an immediate federal response,” it read.

Their action follows their Senate colleagues Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, who sent their own call to action to the Oval Office three days earlier.

“Floridians and the rest of the American public will not tolerate your administration again opening the floodgates for countless, unvetted foreign nationals to stream into our country, putting our national security at grave risk and creating untold public safety threats for our communities,” the letter stated.

Mr. DeSantis also announced on March 13 that he was deploying more than 250 additional officers and soldiers from the Division of Emergency Management, the Florida State Guard, and other state law enforcement agencies to assist with the efforts to repatriate any Haitian migrants, as well as over a dozen air and sea vessels.

He also suggested in an interview with Dana Loesch that any Haitians who do land in Florida could be transported to Martha’s Vineyard like previous illegal immigrants.

But as of March 19, the U.S. Coast Guard says no such a flotilla is heading for The Sunshine State.

Florida Not Acting Alone

Coast Guard Public Relations Officer Eric Rodriguez told The Epoch Times that since August 2002, it has operated with its law enforcement agency partners, like Customs and Border Patrol, in an “advanced position” within the Florida Strait as well as the strait between Haiti and Cuba known as the Windward Passage.

Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC) and the United States Coast Guard have also confirmed the apprehension of 90 Haitians in two separate incidents. On March 15, FWC confirmed the apprehension of a boat in Sebastian Inlet carrying 25 Haitians along with drugs and firearms on Feb. 29, and USCG confirmed the repatriation of 65 Haitians on March 12 after apprehending their vessel near The Bahamas on March 7.

As of speaking with The Epoch Times on March 19, Mr. Rodriguez said there had been no interdictions or repatriations of migrants since those 65.

We are more than prepared and capable to deal with deal with any illegal maritime migrations through the Florida Strait, he said.

However, Mr. Gaetz said he believed this job required more involvement at the federal level.

“You’re dealing with a maritime border that ranges from Key West all the way up to like Indian River County, Florida, and it’s just a huge swath of the Florida straits and even on the Eastern Seaboard,” he said. “And that is not something that can be adequately patrolled by the Coast Guard and local and state law enforcement alone.”

The congressman also said that while the Coast Guard has a fleet of cutters, most of the local and state law enforcement vessels are smaller, designed for nearshore or inshore operations, making them incapable of even safely boarding the Haitians, let alone carrying them back home.

Navy ships, he said, have more capacity to collect people, greater intel, and radar and aviation assets to spot any flotillas and “caravans on the water” in order to stop them before they hit the shore.

Mr. Rodriguez rebuked that claim.

The Coast Guard is more than capable and prepared, given it has multiple assets patrolling the waters, he said.

It’s not just the Coast Guard, Mr. Rodriguez said, referring to a trilateral agreement with The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos, who he said are patrolling those waters with their assets. This is already a multi-agency and multi-country effort, he said.

Humanitarian Crisis

“Those smuggling networks will profit when every Haitian wants out of Haiti,” Mr. Gaetz said. “But there will also be the more blue-collar smuggling efforts that will consist just of, you know, a single person, you know, constructing, you know, an unseaworthy vessel and then charging whatever they can to get folks on it to get it underway.”

The mass migration has been equated to the Mariel Boatlift, which saw more than 120,000 Cubans come across the Florida Strait from Mariel Harbor to South Florida between April and October of 1980. The comparison is being made not just on the size of the exodus but also on its inclusion of people released from prison and insane asylums. As gangs have taken control of Haiti, the prisons have reportedly been emptied as well, which poses a significant security risk.

However, the distance between Mariel Harbor and Key West was a little more than 105 nautical miles. The distance between Port au Prince, Haiti, to Key West is more than six times that distance.

“What the Coast Guard briefed me on is that it’s very perilous timing the winds and the currents from Haiti into the Florida Strait,” he said. One miscalculation or one squall that gets people in overcrowded boats too far west can result in an extended sail that leads to death by starvation and dehydration. These people also come close to making this journey during hurricane season, which begins on June 1.

Mr. Rodriguez affirmed this, saying these vessels they find are overcrowded and not necessarily ready for the perils of the sea, especially when it comes to dealing with changes in weather and nighttime navigation.

While the patrols and messaging of Operation Vigilant Sentry continue, Florida’s politicians insist on increased enforcement.

“We can be proactive, and we can stave off the worst humanitarian and economic and public safety consequences by getting the right deterrence in place and then having a catchment system for those people before they get out into the treacherous waters,” Mr. Gaetz said.

The Biden administration recently announced another $25 million in humanitarian assistance will be sent to Haiti, and Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, ret. Admiral John Kirby suspected that more money from the U.S. and its allies would be coming.

“The situation on the ground is dire,” he said on March 15. “We understand that, and we’re doing everything we can to support a truly international effort to—to better improve security and stability for the Haitian people. But it could take some time.  We’re going stay committed to it.”

Jacob Burg, John Haughy, and Aaron Pan contributed to this report.