The number of Haitian migrants entering California more than doubled from January to February, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
Societal unrest in Haiti has resulted following an estimated 4,000-inmate prison break that has handed approximately 80 percent of power over to gangs in the capital city Port-au-Prince, where more than 33,000 people have fled for safety and refuge, according to a report issued Thursday by the United Nation's International Organization for Migration.
Continued violence in the capital region, home to some 3 million Haitians, has worried United States officials and lawmakers in states like Florida, which is about 830 miles away and viewed as the easiest route for migrants via sea. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recently deployed more than 250 officers and soldiers from the Florida State Guard, Division of Emergency Management and law enforcement agencies to the state's southern coast.
Prior to the recent prison break and gang violence in Port-au-Prince, the number of Haitians seeking refuge in California escalated. The number of migrant encounters at the northern and southern borders in The Golden State totaled 2,220 in February, the most recent month of CBP data—doubling the 1,109 encounters in January.
In comparison, Haitian migrant encounters in the state did not exceed 600 in either October or November. Total encounters since the fiscal year, which began on October 1, have totaled 5,469, with March data not yet published by authorities.
In total, 13,641 Haitian migrants attempted to enter the state in the 2023 fiscal year—an increase of more than 8,000 migrants compared to 2022 and more than 12,000 compared to 2021.
The California Immigrant Data Portal says that 62 percent of Haitian migrants living in California have been in the U.S. for more than 20 years.
Haitians were encountered by federal agents at the U.S.-Mexico border approximately 53,900 times in fiscal year 2022 and more than 76,100 times in fiscal year 2023. Haitian migrants were the top nationality for migrants crossing the dangerous Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama, according to the Migration Policy Institute, remaining among the three largest groups in 2022 and 2023.
Newsweek has reached out to California Governor Gavin Newsom's office for comment.
In a Friday advisory, the U.S. State Department urged those in Haiti to use caution, calling the situation "unpredictable and dangerous."
"Travel within Haiti is conducted at your own risk," the advisory reads. "The U.S. government cannot guarantee your safety traveling to airports, borders, or during any onward travel. You should consider your personal security situation before traveling anywhere in Haiti. Only attempt to depart Haiti or travel within Haiti if you believe it is safe for you to do so."
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden has been criticized for his administration's immigration policies after a Haitian national allegedly raped a disabled 15-year-old girl in a migrant shelter in Massachusetts. The suspect, Cory B. Alvarez, 26, was held without bond.
A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official previously told Newsweek that at the time the alleged offender entered the U.S. legally, he was screened and vetted against national security and public safety databases, and no derogatory information was available.
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Nick Mordowanec is a Newsweek reporter based in Michigan. His focus is reporting on Ukraine and Russia, along with social ... Read more
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