The Department of Homeland Security says any illegal immigrant arriving by boat, including from Haiti, faces “immediate repatriation,” amid growing concerns about a possible wave of migrants from the conflict-plagued country.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, DHS said it is “monitoring the situation in Haiti and coordinating closely with the State Department and international partners.”
The Caribbean nation has seen a major escalation of violence as gangs invaded the capital, burned police stations and attacked the main airport. Gangs have also raided some of the largest prisons, freeing thousands of inmates.
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Masked members of the “G9 and Family” gang stand guard during a press conference by their leader Barbecue in the Delmas 6 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Tuesday, March 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
The increase in violence raises the possibility of a new wave of migrants coming from the country, both at the southern land border, where thousands of migrants arrived in Del Río in 2021, and on boats.
On Wednesday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he will send soldiers and officers, as well as planes and ships to “protect” the state from vessels carrying illegal immigrants.
“Given the circumstances in Haiti, I have directed the Division of Emergency Management, the Florida State Guard and state law enforcement agencies to deploy more than 250 additional officers and soldiers and more than a dozen air and sea vessels to the coast South Florida to protect our State,” he stated.
In its statement, the DHS highlighted that migratory flows through the Caribbean “remain low.”
“All irregular migratory travel, especially maritime routes, is extremely dangerous, unforgiving, and often results in loss of life. DHS will continue to enforce U.S. laws and policies throughout the Straits of Florida and the Caribbean region,” he said. a spokesman.
The spokesperson also stressed that people captured at sea will be returned immediately.
A U.S. Coast Guard vessel stops next to a sailboat containing approximately 150 migrants on July 21, 2022 in Iceland, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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“It is the policy of the United States to return noncitizens who have no fear of persecution or torture or who have no legal basis for entering the United States. Those intercepted at sea are subject to immediate repatriation in accordance with our policy and long-standing procedures. The United States returns or repatriates “Migrants intercepted at sea to The Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti.”
According to the US Coast Guard, 65 migrants were repatriated on Tuesday after the agency detained a ship near the Bahamas. So far, the Coast Guard has repatriated 131 immigrants this fiscal year.
The administration has said it is implementing “consequences” for illegal entry while expanding what it says are legal migration pathways. Haitians are also eligible for a controversial parole program that allows up to 30,000 nationals of Haiti, as well as Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, to fly to the United States each month.
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On Tuesday, Rebecca Zimmerman, undersecretary of Defense for National Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, told lawmakers that the Pentagon is “alert” to the possibility of a mass migration event, but has not yet seen large numbers.
“I think you're right that the driving conditions in Haiti could put pressure on more people,” he told Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. “We recently approved some additional assistance we could provide to the Coast Guard.”
Fox News' Bradford Betz and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.
