On Friday night, an officer from the Florida Highway Patrol pulled into a camp off of the Overseas Highway. More state police are expected to arrive in the Florida Keys soon.
It comes after more violence broke out in Haiti after Prime Minister Ariel Henry quit, and while people are still trying to set up a temporary government. The violence was made worse by a rise in gang-related crimes and a longer curfew.
More and more people are worried about the chance of a mass migration to the U.S.
The fenced-off camp in Islamorada, which has trailers for sleeping, doing laundry, and getting food, has been there for about a year. It was first set up when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis sent more state resources to the Keys in January 2023 in response to a wave of needy people coming from Cuba and Haiti.
Even though there isn’t any solid evidence that Haitians are about to cross the sea, officials are still on high alert.
The Homeland Security Task Force Southeast is keeping a close eye on things and saying that they are ready to act even though irregular movement is still low.
At the same time, political disputes over border security continue. DeSantis says that his efforts at the state level are working and that he is committed to solving the problems that keep happening at the border.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard sent back to Haiti 65 Haitians who were caught off the coast of the Bahamas. At a meeting in Washington, D.C., leaders from the Southern Command said that plans are being made for a possible “mass migration” event.
DeSantis also stated that on February 29, a ship carrying 24 men, women, and children from Haiti was stopped at the Sebastian Inlet, preventing an attempt to smuggle the people on board.
At a news conference in Winter Haven on Friday, he said, “They had guns, drugs, and night vision gear.” “We will keep doing what we can to keep things safe and stable in Florida.”
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