Testimony by Pentagon officials at a recent congressional hearing revealed that America is on the verge of a “mass migration” by Haitians fleeing a war-torn nation that has seen rival gangs take control of factions while a lack of food has led to instances of cannibalism.
Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-FL) began a pointed line of questioning to Defense Department witnesses asked to provide an update on the deteriorating condition in Haiti, which sits just 1,300 kilometers from America’s most southeastern port. While officials said no mass migration has yet to occur, they couldn’t rule out the possibility that it is on the horizon.
“The gangs are in charge, the government has been thrown out, and as a Florida man I’m deeply about this wave of people that we’re about to have and are having from Haiti, because it’s about to accelerate,” he said. “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?”
Defense Department official Rebecca Zimmerman replied that a “number of things” are being done to secure America’s border from being overrun on another front.
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“We’re keeping track of the situation. We’re prepared. At the moment, we have not seen large numbers, what we would characterize as a maritime mass migration. But… we are alert to that possibility,” she said, adding Gaetz is right to be concerned the the “driving conditions” in Haiti “could press more people” to make the perilous journey north to the U.S.
The two go on to debate the sufficiency of new resources provided to the Coast Guard to manage illegal crossings, though Rep. Gaetz said through his conversations with officials they are not receiving the flotilla necessary to supervise all open ocean within the regions ripe for crossings.
“I’ve talked to the Coast Guard, and they say what would really support them would be more naval vessels,” he said, citing a Bush administration policy that allows presidents to take preemptive action to deter oceanic migrations in anticipation of a mass migration.
On Monday, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who had already fled the country, resigned his post, throwing the government into a scramble to replace its top politician while battling street gangs vying for control of the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince, and surrounding areas, according to the Washington Post. The Biden administration has worked to evacuate a small number of Americans present during the country’s collapse while Kenya is sending a military contingent to the island in a bid to quell the unrest.