Republican Rep. Cory Mills of Florida helped rescue a group of Americans from Haiti, marking the third rescue of American citizens in a foreign crisis under the Biden administration.
“I am proud that my team and I were able to evacuate safely.” [and] Last night, we rescued a group of trapped and endangered Americans from Have Faith Orphanage in Haiti,” Mills told Fox News Digital.
“This mission once again illustrates the alarming reality that under President Biden’s leadership, American lives are constantly at risk,” Mills said. “I have led many American rescue operations when Joe Biden has abandoned the American people.”
“There’s a clear pattern of abandonment,” Mills said, citing rescue operations in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of U.S. troops in 2021 and the rescue of Americans from Israel in late 2023. “Once again, this group has been left behind by Biden and his nation.” He contacted the department after requesting help domestically. ”
The 10 Americans evacuated from Haiti were working at the Hub Faith Orphanage in Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti.
At the request of the State Department, the U.S. military sent troops to Haiti over the weekend to strengthen security at the U.S. embassy and airlifted non-essential personnel, including the families of diplomats who remained after last summer’s evacuation order. did. .
The State Department previously told Fox News Digital that it would continue to monitor the situation and consider options, including sending troops to help secure the U.S. embassy.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson said, “Nothing takes precedence over the safety and security of American citizens overseas,” adding, “The U.S. embassy remains open with limited staffing and will provide assistance to Americans as needed.” We will continue to provide it,” he added.
State Department spokesman Matt Miller said in a briefing Tuesday that he did not have a definitive number on the total number of Americans still in Haiti and seeking to leave.
“U.S. citizens wishing to depart from Port-au-Prince should monitor information about the security situation from local news and commercial transportation sources and make arrangements to depart from Haiti when the security situation and commercial transportation options permit. ” the spokesperson explained.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States “welcomed” the decision made by Caribbean leaders during a meeting in Jamaica, and Haiti’s acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced that the interim He announced his resignation to facilitate new leadership who may better engage with the Presidential Council. There is immense insecurity and violence across the country.
“The government I run cannot be insensitive in this situation. No sacrifice is too great for our country,” Prime Minister Henry said in a recorded statement. “The government I run will immediately dismiss the council after it is installed.”
Sullivan also praised Henry’s resignation for considering “the best interests of the Haitian people,” saying, “Decisions regarding Haiti should ultimately be made by the Haitian people.”
He went on to say that discussions on operations and efforts to assist Haiti have proven positive and encouraging, and officials are hopeful that a Kenyan police coalition from East Africa will finally become a reality and that the island nation will He said he was “hoping” it would help bring order.
The Jamaica Conference agreed to provide $100 million in funding and $33 million in additional support to the Kenya Police Federation.
Sullivan said the leaders had also agreed on other emergencies, but the main focus remained on the currently agreed measures.
Regarding the congressman’s mission to evacuate 10 Americans, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital that Mills helped rescue Americans, some of whom live in her district. “I am forever grateful,” he said in an exclusive statement.
“People left behind in war-torn Haiti were desperate and left with no options,” McClain said. “The State Department’s answer was to sign up for a notification system and wait for an alert. It offered no real assistance, no opportunity for rescue, no plan.”
“That’s why Congressman Mills and I had to take matters into our own hands and help stranded Americans,” McClain added. “We worked around the clock to do the work that the Biden administration didn’t want to do. Our friend Cory Mills traveled to Haiti and physically rescued stranded Michiganders. I am forever grateful for your actions.”
“I’m glad we were able to save so many lives, but there are still countless others left,” McClain wrote. “I am furious that the State Department has so carelessly allowed so many Americans to die in Haiti.”
Mr. Mills, a military veteran, evacuated an American family by land from Afghanistan with the assistance of a team of veterans. Mills said the original airlift plan could have rescued more than 20 Americans, and 32 Americans were pulled out of Israel during the trip. Governments were shut down and countries scrambled to expel their citizens.
Mills served in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division and won a House seat in 2023.
In a Fox News Digital op-ed, Mills accused the administration of making a “promise to never leave” Americans behind, but prioritized other concerns at the time.
Asked about Mill’s criticism, neither the State Department nor the National Security Council responded to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment by press time.
