In a Wednesday press release, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that Florida would send assets to southern Florida to prevent any illegal immigration from Haiti.
Governor Ron DeSantis said, “For a long time now, Florida has dedicated significant resources to combating illegal vessels that come to Florida from countries like Haiti.” “Given Haiti’s circumstances, I directed the Division of Emergency Management and the Florida State Guard to deploy more than 250 additional officers, soldiers, and air and seacraft to the southern coast of Florida to protect our state. No state has done anything more to support the (under-resourced), U.S. Coast Guard interdiction efforts. We cannot allow illegal aliens to enter Florida.
The press release contains a description of the deployed forces.
As part of Operation Vigilant Sentry, which aims to stop illegal immigration on the sea, state agencies currently have surveillance and security assets in South Florida. In response to the governor’s order, additional personnel and assets will be sent from:
- The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has added 39 officers.
- The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has added 23 officers and eight additional vessels.
- The Florida National Guard has 48 additional Guardsmen and four additional helicopters.
- Florida Highway Patrol: an extra 30 officers, plus drones and additional aircraft for surveillance.
The Biden Administration has made illegal immigration a serious problem. Millions of immigrants have flooded across the southern border from Central America, South America, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, including China. Texas, faced with the inaction of the Biden Administration, took steps to stop the tide. Several states also lent support to Texas to help it do the work the Biden Administration refuses to perform. At the end of his press release, DeSantis resembles Texas Governor Greg Abbot in some ways:
The federal government refuses to enforce immigration laws or protect the integrity of the border, so illegal immigrants feel empowered to enter US sovereign territory. A state has a right to defend itself and its people when it faces invasion. Florida will act under Governor Ron DeSantis.
Immigration will likely be a major issue in the presidential elections of 2024. At least 2,000,000 illegal immigrants entered the United States during the Biden administration. It is at best unwise to add an unchecked flood of Haitian refugees, considering the Biden administration’s preference for bringing anyone who requests “asylum”, with little or zero screening or background checks. Haiti has descended to a state of utter barbarism, and it is not certain that the gangs that are taking control of that failed Caribbean nation will not look north with envious and malicious eyes.
