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Rubio, Scott to Biden: Help Floridians Prepare for a Mass Migration From Haiti

Mar 15, 2024 | Press Releases

Due to political and civil unrest in Haiti, as gangs undermine democratic order in the county, Haitians are facing unimaginable hardships. Given Florida’s close proximity to the island, it’s anticipated that our state will see a drastic influx of Haitians who are fleeing the ongoing humanitarian and security crisis. 

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter to President Biden inquiring on his plan of action ahead of this new migratory crisis.

  • “Florida families are compassionate. We believe that the people of Haiti deserve our sympathy, targeted American assistance and the support of the international community. However, Floridians and the rest of the American public will not tolerate your administration again opening the floodgates for countless, unvetted foreign nationals to stream into our country, putting our national security at grave risk and creating untold public safety threats for our communities. We must consider this danger due to the numerous reports of gangs committing jailbreaks in Haiti and releasing thousands of dangerous criminals.”
  • “We urge you to immediately respond with answers to the following questions regarding your plan to deal with the significant unrest in Haiti and prevent this humanitarian and security crisis from having a direct negative impact on American families in Florida and across the United States.”

The full text of the letter is below. 

Dear Mr. President: 

The violence and unrest in Haiti is extremely alarming. Florida is home to a vibrant community of Haitian-Americans, and we join them in praying for their loved ones and the Haitian people, and for an immediate return to peace and lawful order.

Florida families are compassionate. We believe that the people of Haiti deserve our sympathy, targeted American assistance and the support of the international community. However, Floridians and the rest of the American public will not tolerate your administration again opening the floodgates for countless, unvetted foreign nationals to stream into our country, putting our national security at grave risk and creating untold public safety threats for our communities. We must consider this danger due to the numerous reports of gangs committing jailbreaks in Haiti and releasing thousands of dangerous criminals.

You have again and again granted entry to mass numbers of foreign citizens without proper vetting and then provided these individuals with cash, phones, lawyers and other services paid for by the U.S. taxpayer. Since you took office, your administration has allowed more than 8 million people to pour across our southern border, including untold numbers of foreign nationals that you have released into the interior of the country.

After your deadly, botched withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, you allowed 90,000 unvetted foreign nationals to enter and move freely within our country. In both instances, you have failed to properly keep track of the whereabouts of these individuals, some of whom have committed violent crimes against American citizens.

It is no wonder that FBI Director Christopher Wray has repeatedly testified before Congress in recent months that the unmitigated disaster that is your immigration policy presents the greatest risk to the American homeland since 9/11. 

Your entire administration can be summed up as this: you create a magnet for illegal immigration here, appease evil regimes, and put the American people at risk, while further expecting taxpayers to pay for the unrest, humanitarian crises and mass border crossings that result. As we watch the tragic events in Haiti unfold, we and many of our fellow Floridians are concerned that your administration will continue this dangerous record.

What the world is witnessing in Haiti as gangs take over the island is a symptom of political unrest in the Western Hemisphere that only has grown under your administration.

Since taking office, you have repeatedly ordered policies that appease evil regimes in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua as they work to destabilize the region. What is even more frustrating is that your administration appears totally unprepared to deal with the consequences of the political unrest these regimes create and support with the assistance of your appeasement policies.

We urge you to immediately respond with answers to the following questions regarding your plan to deal with the significant unrest in Haiti and prevent this humanitarian and security crisis from having a direct negative impact on American families in Florida and across the United States: 

  1. What is the administration’s plan to prevent and stop a mass migration of Haitians to the United States, whether through a port of entry or by illegally crossing into the country between ports of entry?
  2. If individuals from Haiti arrive in the United States, what is your administration’s plan:
    • To vet and conduct background screenings of individuals prior to granting them entry to determine whether they are admissible or inadmissible?
    • To house those individuals pending the completion of the necessary background screening to ensure they are not inadmissible?
    • To monitor and track those individuals who are not deemed inadmissible, and who are released into the interior of our country?
    • To detain those individuals who are deemed inadmissible due to their criminal histories, affiliation with transnational criminal organizations or organized gangs, or membership in terrorist organizations?
  3. If individuals from Haiti arrive in the United States, do you expect your administration to attempt to house them in Florida?
  4. There have been numerous reports of gangs committing jailbreaks in Haiti and releasing thousands of dangerous criminals. If individuals from Haiti arrive in the United States, how will your administration guarantee that no criminals are granted entry into the interior of our country? 

We look forward to your prompt responses to these questions. 

Sincerely,