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The Department of Defense has been alerted to a potential “maritime mass migration” from Haiti that poses safety considerations for South Florida amid the Caribbean nation’s turmoil.
Rebecca Zimmerman, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs, testified relating to mass Haitian migration considerations when requested by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., throughout a House Armed Services Committee listening to on Tuesday to talk about the U.S. navy posture and nationwide safety challenges in North and South America.
“What’s the difference between Haiti and a failed state?” Gaetz requested Zimmerman throughout his line of questioning. “We can’t really identify because the gangs are in charge, the government has been thrown out, and, as a Florida man, I’m deeply concerned about this wave of people that we are about to have, that we are having coming from Haiti, and it will accelerate.”
From his time in Opa-locka, Florida, spent with members of Operation Vigilant Sentry, an interagency job pressure established within the early 2000s to monitor maritime migration tendencies, Gaetz mentioned he realized the Haitians who to date have arrived in Broward County and Palm Beach County — “where they don’t disperse throughout the country, they stay in southeast Florida” — had been pushed by “the deteriorating condition in Haiti,” signaling that the worsening state of affairs on the bottom within the Caribbean nation might immediate extra of a surge to the Sunshine State.
Men on bikes drive previous burning tires throughout an illustration following the resignation of Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday. (CLARENS SIFFROY/AFP through Getty Images)
“So what are we doing to prepare for that wave and to ensure that these people are not paroled into the United States as the administration has done with people on the southern border, but instead are repatriated at the dock back at Port-au-Prince?” Gaetz requested.
“At the moment, we have not yet seen large numbers, what we would characterize as maritime mass migration,” Zimmerman mentioned. “We are alert to that possibility. I think you’re right that the driving conditions in Haiti could very well press more people. We recently approved some additional assistance we could provide to the Coast Guard.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken boards his aircraft upon departure from Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP through Getty Images)
Gaetz mentioned the Coast Guard expressed to him a necessity for extra naval vessels as Department of Defense assist in anticipation of mass migration.
US DEPLOYS MARINE ANTI-TERRORISM UNIT TO HAITI TO PROTECT EMBASSY
Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who serves on the Homeland Security and Armed Services committees, in addition to the brand new Select Committee on China, reacted to the considerations in an announcement to Fox News Digital.
“Six U.S. embassies have been evacuated under Joe Biden’s disastrous foreign policy, with Haiti’s being the latest. Over 10 million people have crossed the border illegally over the past four years. Now, we have yet another migrant crisis at our doorstep due to this Administration’s lack of a strategic vision for our hemisphere,” Giménez mentioned. “Miami-Dade County boasts one of the largest Haitian-American communities in the nation. Our residents want concrete actions and a Haitian-led solution to this humanitarian crisis that restores democracy, safety, and security to the island. These criminal gangs that are terrorizing the Haitian people must be stopped at all costs.”
Pedestrians and commuters fill a road in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Tuesday. Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry introduced Tuesday that he would resign as soon as a transitional presidential council is created. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
At a press convention on Monday, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., who’s Haitian-American, warned of a potential safety threat if the U.S. fails to act, Politico reported.
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Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry on Tuesday introduced he would resign, bowing to worldwide strain to save his homeland gripped by violence and managed by closely armed gangsters underneath the management of the infamous Jimmy “Barbecue” Chérizier. The announcement got here hours after officers, together with Caribbean leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met in Jamaica to talk about an answer to halt Haiti’s spiraling disaster and agreed to a joint proposal to set up a transitional council.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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