With the possible exception of the snark sisters on MSNBC, it's become plain to Americans that every state is a border state, with degrees of urgency being driven largely by proximity to the front lines. In the fourth year of the Biden Administration’s craven indifference to illegal immigration, the front lines are constantly shifting ever farther from the Rio Grande Valley.
We are reminded of this geographic flexibility by the latest bloody unrest in Haiti, where generational upheaval is as much a part of the island’s culture as plantains and Vodou. This time, the fragile peace was shattered by a criminal gang confederation opposed to Prime Minister Ariel Henry and the unelected government he led until his resignation this week; the outlaws have wreaked terror against government, law enforcement, financial centers, even the nation’s main airport.
What is happening in Haiti is bad enough. Innocents simply hoping against hope for better lives are caught in the crossfire. But what happens in Haiti, parked in the western Caribbean equidistant from Miami and Caracas, Venezuela, seems determined not to stay in Haiti.
There are growing fears the United States could face another wave of illegal immigration as refugees flee Haiti following the resignation of the Caribbean nation's president and a widespread breakdown in law and order. …
Armed gangs are estimated to control 80 percent of Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital. The U.S. has evacuated some of its embassy personnel and is urging citizens to leave.
On Tuesday, Department of Defense official Rebecca Zimmerman was asked by Republican Matt Gaetz during a House Armed Services Committee hearing whether the crisis could lead to "a mass migration" into the U.S. She replied, "We are alert to that possibility," adding, "The driving conditions in Haiti could very well press more people [to migrate].”
Given the directions in which Haitians might flee — south to Venezuela, which is no picnic, or northwest to Florida and the bosom of the generous (with your dollars) left beyond — Sunshine State Gov. Ron DeSantis has beefed up patrols off the Gold Coast and the Florida Keys.
Only the reinforcements — hundreds of law enforcement officers and National Guard soldiers, backed by helicopters, aircraft, drones and boats — are new. Interdictions of wave-riding would-be immigrants have been going on for a while. Since January 2023, according to DeSantis, Florida officials aided the Coast Guard with the interdiction of 670 rogue vessels carrying more than 13,500 passengers.
Man of action that he is, DeSantis ordered the surge of state resources in anticipation of, not in response to, a flotilla coming Florida’s way. The announcement of DeSantis’ orders echoed the governor’s steadfast support for Texas’ self-defense operations.
Illegal immigrants feel empowered to enter the sovereign territory of the United States because of the federal government’s refusal to diligently enforce our immigration laws and protect the integrity of the border. When a state faces the possibility of invasion, it has the right and duty to defend its territory and people.
Naturally, our left-tilting friends occupying the Miami Herald editorial board detect only cold-hearted political calculation.
DeSantis, of course, wouldn’t waste the chance for performative politics. Describing desperate Haitians fleeing violence and hunger as invaders from whom Florida must defend itself in the same way it would from a hostile military invasion is dehumanizing to his own constituents of Haitian descent in South Florida. Their vote is obviously not a priority for the governor who appears to be trying to stay relevant for a possible 2028 presidential run.
Stipulated: There is no shortage of Haitians for whom daily life is harrowing, and the lure of American peace, stability and rule of law may prove too tempting to resist.
But let’s not kid ourselves: Some of the Haitian boats headed our way — who knows how many — harbor passengers whose understanding of how to make it in the USA appears at least partly inspired by American Gangster and New Jack City. The evidence?
Friday, DeSantis reported officers from the state’s Fish and Wildlife Commission recently intercepted a boat from Haiti carrying 25 potential illegal immigrants, plus firearms, drugs, and night-vision eyewear.
BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis announces Florida agents have interdicted a vessel that had 25 suspected illegal aliens from Haiti
— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) March 15, 2024
"They had firearms, they had drugs [...] That vessel was interdicted [and] those illegal aliens were turned over to the Coast Guard for deportation." pic.twitter.com/LIRBuEwFiO
Seems Florida officials were right to prepare for uncommonly rowdy spring breakers. These fun-seekers were headed for the shore beyond Sebastian Inlet State Park, about a dozen miles north of Vero Beach.
“The message,” DeSantis said, “is the last thing you should want to do is get on a boat and think you're going to come through from any of these islands to get to the state of Florida. The most likely scenario is you'll be stopped, and you will be returned to your country of origin.”
Some talk, talk, talk about repatriation of foreign nationals on U.S. soil illegally. A vanishingly tiny number of others mobilize the troops and get it done. Imagine, at this moment of immigration crisis, someone such as the latter astride national policy.
Oh, somebody did imagine just that. And she was not amused.
Rupert Murdoch is an a**hole.
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) March 15, 2024
Look what he did today. @FoxNews put @ronDeSantis on TV to make him look tough right after President Trump got screwed by Judge McAfee in Georgia this morning.
These DeSimps and all Trump haters are so predictable. And it’s a Good thing they are,… pic.twitter.com/3ee4xwJA2H
Right, right. The get-’er-done guy may wear cowboy boots with lifts, or something, and, evidently, that kind of vanity (but not orange bronzer) is clearly disqualifying. And so it goes.
