The United States military is prepared to send Navy vessels to counter an anticipated mass migration of Haitians into Florida.
Officials testified Tuesday in front of the House Armed Services Committee regarding Department of Defense (DOD) activities in the Western Hemisphere and continued challenges to security, including the ongoing conflict in Haiti.
Escalating gang violence has erupted in the nation after armed gangs orchestrated jailbreaks from Haiti's two largest prisons, resulting in more than 4,500 inmates escaping. The gangs are demanding the resignation of the Caribbean nation's prime minister, Ariel Henry, prompting U.S. officials to warn any U.S. citizens to evacuate Haiti by any means necessary. The U.S. Embassy based in Port-au-Prince remains open but is operating with limited purview and has evacuated some personnel. Henry announced late Monday that he would resign.
Florida Representative Matt Gaetz asked three U.S. officials on Tuesday whether the DOD and U.S. Navy would counteract the ongoing gang violence while simultaneously addressing mass migration of Haitians to communities in Florida.
"As a Florida man, I'm deeply concerned about this wave of people that we're about to have that we are having coming from Haiti....They stay in southeast Florida," Gaetz said. "That driving factor is the deterioration of conditions in Haiti.
"So, 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, but instead, are repatriated back at the dock at Port au Prince?"
General Laura Richardson, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), was asked if the government should "activate the authorities, anticipating a mass migration."
"I think that we need to be postured appropriately for that," Richardson said. "I have put in a request for increase capability to do exactly that. And we are ready if we need to deal with a mass migration."
SOUTHCOM is a joint command composed of more than 1,200 military and civilian personnel representing the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and several other federal agencies.
Newsweek reached out to Gaetz via email for comment.
"The focus of last night's U.S. military operation was to maintain strong security capabilities at our embassy, conduct relief in place for our current Marines, a common and routine practice worldwide, and allow additional non-emergency personnel to depart," SOUTHCOM spokesperson Richard Crusan told Newsweek on Wednesday via email. "This mission allows embassy mission operations to continue."
SOUTHCOM has provided multiple updates about the unfolding situation in Haiti, including the announced deployment of a U.S. Marine Fleet Anti-Terrorism Security Team (FAST). The measure allows non-emergency personnel to depart Haiti.
"U.S. Southern Command is prepared with a wide range of contingency plans to ensure the safety and security of U.S. Citizens in Haiti," reads a statement issued on Wednesday.
Richardson, when implored by Gaetz to make a request for DOD assistance, said she would talk to other districts in addition to the U.S. Coast Guard on the Atlantic side to see if they need additional grey-hull vessels, which had not been previously requested by SOUTHCOM.
"But if there's a need for that, I would absolutely request it," she added.
Grey-hull vessels have been used by the Chinese, for example, in its own military-related endeavors to not provoke a military response from adversaries.
"If you deploy grey-hull vessels, your adversary may also deploy a grey-hull vessel as a reciprocal measure, so that makes it more dangerous for everyone," Ridzwan Rahmat, a Singapore-based analyst with the defense intelligence company Janes, told the Associated Press. "So, to avoid this, China has been deploying white-hull vessels to reinforce its presence without escalating things."
DOD official Rebecca Zimmerman said Tuesday that preparations were being made for a potential increase in refugees, adding that the U.S. presently has not seen numbers large enough to be characterized as a maritime mass migration.
When asked if it is anticipated, she said plans are in place due to the possibility of it coming to fruition.
"I think you're right that the driving conditions in Haiti could very well press more people," Zimmerman said. "So, we've recently approved some additional assistance that we can provide to the Coast Guard."
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