Washington, D.C. – Congresswomen Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) led a Florida Democratic Congressional Delegation letter to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis regarding the potential mass migration from Haiti to Florida, urging Republicans to deal with the basis causes of migration.
Within the letter, the lawmakers said, “No less than 80% of Haiti’s capital, Port-au-Prince, is underneath the control of criminal gangs. Final yr alone, there have been almost 5,000 murders, 2,000 kidnappings, and greater than 310,000 individuals who had been internally displaced. Gangs have weaponized sexual violence in opposition to ladies and younger ladies and have threatened to begin a civil battle. Roughly 1.4 million Haitians are nearing famine.”
“We, subsequently, urge you to hitch us in calling on Republicans in Congress to launch their monthslong maintain on funds for the Multinational Safety Assist mission. Each minute we refuse to offer the promised funds, the Haitian individuals endure, and the border safety of Florida is threatened.”
“As the one Haitian American in Congress and Co-Chair of the Congressional Haiti Caucus, I do know the struggling of the Haitian individuals firsthand,” mentioned Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick. “The soundness of Haiti is within the nationwide safety curiosity of the USA. Congressional Republicans have to launch their maintain on funds for Haiti’s safety and stability, as a way to forestall mass migration to Florida.”
“As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, I’ve constantly advocated for help to help Haitians affected by poverty and violence and strengthen Haiti’s governance and legislation enforcement. These efforts are wanted now greater than ever,” mentioned Congresswoman Wasserman Schultz. “It’s unlucky that Republicans have delayed efforts to safe Haiti’s civilian inhabitants. It’s equally heartbreaking that many of the weapons being utilized by gangs to terrorize Haitians are manufactured within the U.S. and illegally trafficked out of Florida.”
Signers of the letter embrace Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL), Darren Soto (D-FL), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Frederica S. Wilson (D-FL), and Maxwell Alejandro Frost (D-FL).
The complete textual content of the letter may be discovered here.
