Florida braces for surge in Haitian migrants

From: POLITICO Florida Playbook - Wednesday Mar 13,2024 11:05 am

Mar 13, 2024

This screen grab taken from AFPTV shows tires on fire near the main prison of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on March 3, 2024, after a breakout by several thousand inmates. | Luckenson Jean/ AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images

Good morning and welcome to Wednesday.

The crisis in Haiti could lead to a migration surge to Florida, forcing officials to respond as the state has taken an increasingly hardline stance on the issue and as Congress faces gridlock over border policy.

Violent gangs have largely overtaken the island nation and people throughout Haiti face dwindling food supplies and homelessness. The chaos has led to the resignation of Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry, who will formally step down as soon as an interim leader is named.

Over the years, the Caribbean country’s turmoil has forced Haitians to take the dangerous, 700-mile path by sea to flee to Florida’s shores, often landing in the Keys. Today, more than 276,000 people who live in Florida were born in Haiti, including state Rep. Dotie Joseph, a Democrat who represents North Miami. Amid the latest surge in violence, her cousins were displaced out of Port-au-Prince and she has friends whose loved ones were kidnapped and released.

“The instability in Haiti impacts every Haitian throughout the diaspora. It’s something that weighs heavily on all of our hearts and creates a feeling of helplessness because we all want to help and the path to a solution is not crystal clear,” Joseph said, adding that Haitians were reluctant to rely on international intervention after the brutal U.S. occupation in 1915 and abuses by the United Nations.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Florida Democrat who is Haitian-American, warned in a press conference Monday that if the U.S. failed to act then it would create a security risk here. The U.S. has pledged to provide $333 million in aid, but during a House Armed Services Committee hearing yesterday, Rebecca Zimmerman, a top Defense official, acknowledged under questioning from U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) that federal officials are anticipating the possibility of maritime migration.

The governor’s office hasn’t yet said how it will respond, and a large-scale crisis could push Gov. Ron DeSantis to work with President Joe Biden, whom he frequently criticizes on this issue. Just over a year ago, as unrest continued after the Miami-linked 2021 assassination of Haitian president Jovenel Moïse, DeSantis declared a state of emergency and activated the state National Guard after 130 Haitians and 500 Cubans arrived in South Florida. Tens of thousands of Haitians at the time also tried to cross into the U.S. at the Texas border.

DeSantis has made it clear through his policies that Florida won’t welcome mass migration. He successfully sued the Biden administration over border policies, deployed National Guard troops to the Texas-Mexico border and relocated migrants from Texas to blue states. He also signed one of the harshest measures into law, making it harder for people to work in Florida if they live here illegally.

Joseph accused both Florida and national Republicans of “villainizing” migrants and using them as a scapegoat. A “humane and legally accurate result,” she said, would be to process people’s claims rather than just trying to send them back.

“Nobody wants to leave where they are to come to some place that may not be welcoming to them,” Joseph said. “They leave because something very wrong is going on at home. And if we're honest, a lot of the instability that's going on in Haiti is a direct result of intervention and failed policies by various countries, including the United States.”

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... DATELINE TALLAHASSEE ...

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo arrives for a joint session of the Florida legislature.

Florida Senate President Kathleen Passidomo arrives for a joint session of the Florida legislature at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee, Fla., on Jan. 9, 2024. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

ON HIS DESK — Gov. Ron DeSantis last night received nine bills, including Senate President Kathleen Passidomo’s high-profile “Live Healthy” legislation as well as a contentious bill that prohibits people from camping or sleeping on public property. DeSantis is expected to sign the bills since he has previously signaled his support.

— Gary Fineout

UNPACKING THE BUDGET — “A look at the Florida Legislature’s spending plan: From bears to water quality,” reports Jim Turner of News Service of Florida. “A $117.46 billion budget that state lawmakers approved last week includes big-ticket items such as a 3 percent pay raise for state employees, a $240 bump in per-student school funding, $13.99 billion for transportation projects and $702 million for Everglades restoration. But the budget, which drew almost unanimous support Friday and is headed to DeSantis, includes a lot more than that. The fine print of the 500-plus-page document includes money for more than 1,500 programs and projects that lawmakers want to bring back to their communities and vast amounts of details about how money would be spent.”

LAWSUIT — “Florida joins federal lawsuit against cancer charity over alleged fraud,” reports Jack Lemnus of WPEC. “Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is taking legal action against a cancer treatment charity that allegedly mismanaged money meant for patients. The Federal Trade Commission and agencies from 10 states, including Florida, filed suit against Cancer Recovery Foundation International, Inc. and its founder and president, Gregory B. Anderson, the FTC announced Monday in a news release. The foundation claimed that it provided financial support directly to help cancer patients and families in need. It also operated and solicited donations under another name: Women’s Cancer Fund.”

Q+A — “What’s now allowed under law dubbed ‘Don’t Say Gay’? A legal settlement brings changes,” by the South Florida Sun Sentinel’s Scott Travis. “While the original language in ‘Parental Rights in Education’ never specifically banned gay-straight alliances, library books with gay characters or class projects on LGBTQ subjects, the law’s vague language led to different interpretations and inconsistent enforcement. Here are some common questions about what the law allows and still prohibits.”

CREDIT COMING — FPL agrees to credit customers $5M for nuke plant outages, reports POLITICO’s Bruce Ritchie. Florida Power & Light Co. has agreed to credit its customers $5 million for replacement power costs due to nuclear plant shutdowns, Public Counsel Walt Trierweiler said Tuesday. The Office of Public Counsel told the Public Service Commission in a pre-hearing statement filed Tuesday that FPL had agreed to credit customers for power purchases due to plant outages between 2020 and 2022. State regulators in February had recommended the PSC should refund more than $11 million, citing an agency audit that blamed mismanagement for some of the more than 40 shutdowns and fines at the Turkey Point and St. Lucie nuclear power plants.

'MOTHER OF CBD' — “Creator of Charlotte’s Web CBD urges DeSantis to veto hemp bill,” reports Steven Lemongello of the Orlando Sentinel. “Paige Figi, known as the 'mother of CBD' and creator of the brand Charlotte’s Web, says she hopes DeSantis will veto a bill passed last week that would effectively ban CBD products in Florida. Figi said she has been trying to talk to DeSantis but hasn’t reached him. The stated purpose of the bill (SB 1698) approved by the Florida Legislature is to outlaw synthetic chemicals in hemp that can induce euphoria. But Figi, whose late daughter Charlotte took what became known as Charlotte’s Web, a form of non-euphoric CBD, to treat her severe epilepsy, says the measure would also signal the death knell for CBD in the state. Other parents of children with illnesses and independent hemp growers also want the bill to be vetoed, she said.”

— “FDLE child sex sting operation leads to arrest of 12 men, 5 from Escambia County,” reports Benjamin Johnson of the Pensacola News Journal

PENINSULA AND BEYOND

JOB MOVES — “Sarasota litigation attorney appointed to County Court position in 12th Judicial Circuit,” reports Gabriela Szymanowska of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. “The 12th Judicial Circuit, which encompasses Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto counties, has seen a shuffling of new faces as DeSantis has made appointments to fill open positions created by the retirement and resignation of several judges. The newest appointment is that of Shannon Hankin, a former assistant public defender and assistant state attorney and current attorney at the Hankin and Hankin Law Firm.”

ALL ABOARD — “Brightline gives green light to Cocoa stop for its Orlando-to-Miami passenger rail service,” reports Dave Berman of Florida Today. “Next stop: Cocoa. That's the word from passenger rail company Brightline, which on Tuesday said it plans to have a Brevard County train stop at what's known as "the Cocoa curve," on land it owns in north Cocoa, though it hasn't yet said when construction would begin. Brightline currently operates 32 trains a day — 16 in each direction — from early morning to late evening between Orlando International Airport and Miami, but has no stop in Brevard County.”

‘PARTY ON BILL’ — “Pinellas County mayor and others ask DeSantis to veto vacation rental bill,” reports Chad Mills of WTFS Tampa Bay. “State lawmakers in Tallahassee recently passed a bill that gives the state more control and preempts a local government’s power to regulate things like a vacation rental’s quiet hours or overnight occupancy limit … The bill does set statewide overnight occupancy limits and allows local governments to maintain a registration system. However, with other protections reduced and diminished, [resident John] Pfanstiehl hopes DeSantis will veto the bill that he thinks will hurt his neighborhood if it becomes law.”

CAMPAIGN MODE

FILE - In this combination of photos, President Joe Biden, left, speaks on Aug. 10, 2023, in Salt Lake City, and former President Donald Trump speaks on June 13, 2023, in Bedminster, N.J. The sequel to the 2020 election is officially set as the president and his immediate predecessor secured their parties' nominations. Biden and Trump have set up a political movie the country has seen before — even if the last version was in black and white. (AP Photo, File) | AP

PRESUMPTIVES — President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump both officially clinched their respective party nominations for the White House last night. "A redux of the Biden-Trump faceoff will test the limits of campaign finance and decorum in a modern presidential contest," writes POLITICO's Natalie Allison. "Trump is currently in the lead, both in national and battleground polling in recent months, but he lags behind Biden in fundraising. He also faces a number of legal challenges ahead, including a trial over hush money payments to a porn star that begins in New York on March 25."

JOIN US ON 3/21 FOR A TALK ON FINANCIAL LITERACY: Americans from all communities should be able to save, build wealth, and escape generational poverty, but doing so requires financial literacy. How can government and industry ensure access to digital financial tools to help all Americans achieve this? Join POLITICO on March 21 as we explore how Congress, regulators, financial institutions and nonprofits are working to improve financial literacy education for all. REGISTER HERE.

DATELINE D.C.

PUBLIC TRANSIT BURST — “Feds recommend $263M for new Miami-Dade commuter rail service,” reports Chris Gothner of Local 10 News. “The Northeast Corridor Rapid Transit Project would connect already-existing train stations in downtown Miami and Aventura with five new stations in between, using Florida East Coast Railway tracks already used by Brightline. Those would be located at Northeast 27th Street in Wynwood, Northeast 39th Street in the Miami Design District, Northeast 61st Street in Little Haiti, Northeast 123rd Street in North Miami and Northeast 151st Street near the Florida International University Biscayne Bay Campus in North Miami.”

MILLS TO THE RESCUE — “Congressman evacuates 10 Americans from crime-ravaged Haiti, slams Biden for 'pattern of abandonment,'” reports Peter Aitken of Fox News. “The 10 Americans evacuated from Haiti had worked at the Have Faith Orphanage in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince. The U.S. military sent forces to Haiti over the weekend at the request of the State Department to bolster security at the U.S. Embassy and airlifted non-essential personnel – such as family of diplomats – who had remained after an order for such individuals to evacuate last summer. “

— Rep. Gaetz, crusader against reckless spending, led the House in 2023 office expenses, reports Keturah Hetrick at Legistorm

ODDS, ENDS AND FLORIDA MEN

BIRTHDAYS: Former U.S. Rep. Alan Grayson ... former state Rep. Scott Plakon … Bob Asztalos, deputy executive director at the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs

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