The Department of Defense has acknowledged that Florida is bracing for a massive wave of Haitian immigrants as the island nation has been overtaken by violent gangs and civilians are seeking escape.
The alarming confirmation came during questioning in front of the House Armed Services Committee, as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) expressed great concern for the possibility of southern Florida being overrun with an influx of non-citizens.
During the question and answer session, Gaetz said, “As a Florida man, I’m deeply concerned about this wave of people that we’re about to have, that we are having, coming from Haiti, and it will accelerate.” He then added “they don’t disperse throughout the country, they stay in southeast Florida.”
I don’t want southeast Florida to become Haiti.
I am calling on Joe Biden to do the right thing and declare an anticipated state of mass migration over water.
That way we could get naval vessels in the Florida straits to deter the thousands of incoming Haitians before they… pic.twitter.com/o0rd3sFaOY
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 14, 2024
In response to Gaetz’s concern, the DoD officials gave off a timid aura of incompetence as they quietly looked at each other, not knowing who should speak. When one finally spoke up, only vague assurances were given that the Biden administration was aware of the situation and that they “think” additional assistance to the Coast Guard has been approved.
In response, Gaetz said the U.S. navy itself needs to be deployed to the Haitian waters and cited an Executive Order given by George W. Bush as giving the authority to use military vessels in the event of an anticipated mass migration such as is expected from Haiti.
With the lack of preparation from the federal government, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is bracing for the impact by sending more than 250 soldiers, as well as boats and aircraft to help protect the state from any incoming migrant vessels. Of course, without federal resources, Florida can only do so much alone.
Order in Haiti has completely collapsed as the nation has been overrun by violent gangs that have launched attacks on police stations and driven residents from their homes. The current government is seeking aid from foreign army to come and combat the armed brigands. With the ongoing chaos, it is little wonder why Haitians would want to flee their nation in droves.
With the current illegal immigrant crisis on the Mexican border, another crisis in Florida would hardly look good for President Joe Biden during an election year. While the Democrats have not been motivated to do anything about mass immigration in the past, it remains to be seen if threats to political survival will be enough to bring competent action.
