Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) issued an urgent warning this week over an anticipated flood of illegal migrants from the besieged island of Haiti. The conservative told NewsNation that violent gangs have overtaken the island and U.S. officials anticipate a wave of refugees seeking Florida’s shores.
Gaetz explained during his appearance with “On Balance With Leland Vittert” that Haiti is currently a “failed state.” He noted that “Biden administration officials I was speaking with couldn’t distinguish Haiti from a failed state.”
INCOMING HAITIAN INVASION: DoD officials testify before the House Armed Services Committee that the Biden Administration acknowledges there IS an anticipated mass migration from Haiti into the United States through Florida 👇 pic.twitter.com/Fo9XyR9v8n
— Rep. Matt Gaetz (@RepMattGaetz) March 12, 2024
The representative declared this will be “the No. 1 push factor” that will directly lead to thousands of illegal migrants teeming onto Florida’s shores.
Haiti’s prime minister revealed he will resign, and Washington is airlifting nonessential personnel from the embassy.
Security at the diplomatic headquarters is also being strengthened as society breaks down further.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday he will deploy more than 250 officers to prevent mass illegal migration into the state.
The Department of Defense was alerted this week to the potential for “maritime mass migration” from the stricken country.
Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense and Hemispheric Affairs Rebecca Zimmerman told the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday of the chaos in Haiti.
Her testimony over the expected wave of migration drew questioning from Gaetz. He noted that the government has been tossed aside and gangs are now running the country.
The representative continued, “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.”
Gaetz told NewsNation that it is critically important for U.S. forces to confront the illegals on the water.
He explained, “If we interdict them at sea, we are able to pull right up to a dock at Port-au-Prince, as a consequence of our agreements there, let them out, and they are never part of the immigration system.”
The situation dramatically worsens if illegal migrants reach the shore. Gaetz predicted they will then claim to fear the situation in their homeland and ask for asylum. This, he said, “further clogs that system.”
He expressed his worry over Southeast Florida becoming Haiti. Since migrants do not spread out evenly, Gaetz said they will inevitably be “a huge burden on our jails, on our hospitals [and] our school systems.”
The conservative added that violence “you see from some of these folks is horrendous.”
