The Department of Homeland Security announced that illegal immigrants arriving by boat, including those from Haiti, will face “immediate deportation” amid growing concerns about a potential wave of migrants from the conflict-stricken country.
DHS said in a statement to Fox News Digital that it is “monitoring the situation in Haiti and working closely with the State Department and international partners.”
The Caribbean country has seen a major escalation in violence, with gangs taking over the capital, burning down police stations and attacking the main airport. The gang also raided some of the largest prisons and released thousands of inmates.
DeSantis sends soldiers and planes to ‘protect’ Florida from illegal immigrant boats amid Haitian uprising
Masked members of the G9 and Family gang stand guard during the leader’s barbecue press conference in the Delmas 6 neighborhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Oderin Joseph)
The escalating violence raises the possibility of a new wave of migrants from the country, both at the southern border and by boat, where thousands of migrants flooded into Del Rio in 2021.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday that he is sending soldiers, officials, planes and boats to “protect” Florida from vessels carrying illegal immigrants.
“Given the situation in Haiti, I am directing the Office of Emergency Management, the Florida National Guard, and state law enforcement agencies to deploy more than 250 additional soldiers and soldiers, and more than a dozen aircraft and vessels to the south coast of Florida, to assist our nation. “I have directed them to protect the state,” he said.
DHS stressed in a statement that migration flows through the Caribbean “remain low.”
“All irregular migration journeys, especially maritime routes, are extremely dangerous, unforgiving, and often result in loss of life. DHS continues to enforce U.S. laws and policies in the Florida Straits and throughout the Caribbean. “The spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also stressed that those captured at sea will be immediately returned.
A U.S. Coast Guard boat anchors next to a sailboat carrying approximately 150 migrants on July 21, 2022 in Islandia, Florida. (Joe Radle/Getty Images)
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry bows to international pressure and resigns amid mini-civil war
“The policy of the United States is to return noncitizens who do not fear persecution or torture and who have no legal basis to enter the United States. Persons intercepted at sea are subject to immediate deportation in accordance with long-standing U.S. policies and procedures. The United States will return or repatriate migrants to the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, and Haiti at sea. ”
The U.S. Coast Guard said 65 migrants were repatriated Tuesday after the agency stopped their boat near the Bahamas. The Coast Guard has repatriated 131 migrants so far this year.
The administration said it was taking “consequences” for illegal entry while expanding immigration routes it claims are legal. Haitians are also subject to a controversial parole program. The program will allow up to 30,000 citizens of Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to fly into the United States each month.
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On Tuesday, Rebecca Zimmerman, the assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and hemispheric affairs, told lawmakers that the Pentagon is “alert” to the possibility of large-scale migration incidents, but that no large-scale migration has occurred yet. No, he said.
“I think you’re right that the driving conditions in Haiti could put even more people under pressure,” she told Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. “We recently approved some additional support that we can provide to the Coast Guard.”
FOX News’ Bradford Betts and Daniel Wallace contributed to this report.
