Anticipating a possible surge in refugees fleeing the gang-fueled lawlessness and chaos in Haiti, Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday ordered more than 250 law enforcement officers, Guardsmen and soldiers from several agencies to South Florida and the Keys.
Their equipment will include “over a dozen air and sea craft.” Part of the deployment will be in waters off the coast.
It’s not certain what will happen next in Haiti, where people are increasingly desperate as the government continues to flounder and gangs rule the streets, especially in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
Conditions are so bad that many Haitians see no alternative but to try to leave the country. And that could lead to an increase in the number of people who make the perilous attempt to reach Florida by boat. The journey is more than 700 miles.
The announcement from the governor’s office said the state was acting to stop a “potential influx of illegal immigration from Haiti.”
In strong language, the governor’s office announcement said such actions are necessary “when a state faces the possibility of invasion.”
The effort expands on an effort DeSantis announced last year. State agencies already had what the governor’s office described as “security and surveillance assets in South Florida and the Keys as a part of Operation Vigilant Sentry to stop illegal immigration at sea.”
Wednesday’s action involves “additional personnel and assets” from several agencies:
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement, 39 officers.
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, 23 additional officers and eight seacraft.
- Florida National Guard, 48 Guardsmen and four helicopters.
- Florida Highway Patrol, 30 officers plus an unspecified number of additional aircraft and drones for surveillance.
- Florida State Guard, the new military force under control of the governor, “up to 133 soldiers” deployed to the Keys.
“For quite some time, the State of Florida has been dedicating significant resources to combat illegal vessels coming to Florida from countries such as Haiti,” DeSantis said in a statement.
It wasn’t clear how many additional officers and other forces already have been deployed to the region as part of the earlier effort.
In January 2023, DeSantis activated the Florida National Guard in response to a surge in migrants coming in boats to the Florida Keys. In an executive order at the time he declared the situation a “major disaster” and directed state law enforcement to support local governments in South Florida.
At the time, many migrants were arriving from Cuba, but also from Haiti. Both countries were experiencing political and economic crises.
It’s unclear what will happen to Haitians who arrive in Florida. U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick said Monday that the State Department “confirmed to us and told us that there will not be any deportations” at least for the time being.
The Broward-Palm Beach county Democrat is the only Haitian American member of Congress.
Cherfilus-McCormick urged the creation of a multinational force to wrest control of Haiti from gangs and the creation of a transitional government, using funding but not troops from the U.S.
The situation has been rapidly evolving.
Early Tuesday morning, the embattled prime minister, Ariel Henry, said he would resign once a traditional presidential council is created. His resignation was sought by many in the U.S. and international community, along with gang leaders who control much of what is happening in the Caribbean nation.
Although Cherfilus-McCormick agreed with gang leaders on the need for Henry to go, she wants to see an international force to combat their influence. “The gangs are taking over,” she said.
Information from Sun Sentinel archives and The Associated Press was used in this report.
Anthony Man can be reached at aman@sunsentinel.com and can be found @browardpolitics on Bluesky, Threads, Facebook and Post.news.