MIAMI — Florida’s emergency response to the influx of migrants from Cuba and Haiti arriving by boat will be one of surveillance and not interdiction as 150 to 200 troops and officers work with federal Homeland Security officials “to increase coastal vigilance and provide improved situational awareness on migrant activities,’’ state emergency operations officials said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management is activated and prepared to “deploy all available resources and manpower to respond to the unprecedented level of migrant landings on our shores,’’ said DEM Director Kevin Guthrie. He said the agency will continue its work with “Operation Vigilant Sentry,’’ the Department of Homeland Security task force focused on maritime migration.
The rush of resources to the Florida Keys is a response to an executive order signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis on Friday after more than 300 migrants arrived in the Keys from Cuba in the first weekend of this year. The order activated the Florida National Guard and directed state law enforcement and other state agencies to “help alleviate the strain on local resources” from migrants arriving by boat in the Keys.
While border security and interdiction of migrants is the job of the federal government, state law enforcement has traditionally played only a supporting role. But as immigration has become an emotionally charged political issue, and DeSantis is considered a likely 2024 candidate for president, Florida has taken a more aggressive posture, raising concerns for immigration advocates.
In July 2021, DeSantis sent 50 state law enforcement officers to Texas to help enforce the U.S.-Mexico border, and in September of last year he spent $1.5 million in Florida tax dollars to relocate 49 asylum seekers from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts because it was a Democratic stronghold.
Caution urged to not copy Texas
Advocates warn that if DeSantis follows the lead of Gov. Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, and attempts to apprehend and detain migrants when they reach land, the state could set up a potential conflict with federal law.
“What we’ll be watching for is that the governor doesn’t overstep his powers as a state, because there are very clear federal laws that he cannot break,’’ said Tessa Petit, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Abbott has spent an estimated $4 billion on “Operation Lone Star” to stop illegal migration at the Southern border. In 18 months, he has deployed National Guard troops to the border, arrested migrants on state misdemeanor charges, relocated migrants to Democrat-run cities, and started construction of a state border wall using shipping containers.
In December, Abbott ordered more than 500 Texas guardsmen to physically stop migrants from entering the country by cutting off one of the busiest crossing points along the border. But according to an analysis of the migrant flow into the country by the Texas Tribune, Abbott’s efforts have not staunched the stream of people crossing from Mexico into Texas.
Both DeSantis and Abbott have blamed the Biden administration for its handling of the border crisis. Biden announced he wants to end the Trump-era public health policy known as Title 42, which allowed the federal government to swiftly expel more than 2 million migrants since it was implemented as a way to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Although the policy has yet to expire, the announcement is considered an attraction for migrants seeking asylum from economic and political turmoil in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Since August, more than 8,000 migrants have been interdicted off Florida shores by federal and state officials, DeSantis said Friday when he declared a state of emergency. Because the Biden administration has demonstrated “ineptitude in managing the crisis,” he also said that Florida was facing a “major disaster.”
State agencies have broad access to resources
The governor’s executive order gives sweeping powers to state agencies to waive and suspend rules, enter into no-bid contracts and spend unlimited amounts of money by directing that “sufficient funding be made available, as needed” from the governor’s $500 million emergency fund.
The governor tasked the Division of Emergency Management to coordinate the response and gave it the authority to ask other states for assistance, with their aid being reimbursed by Florida taxpayers.
Initial indications from the Department of Homeland Security and the Florida National Guard are that the Guard’s role will not involve ground troops but primarily involve aerial support, assisting with surveillance of migrants attempting to reach Florida shores.
“We have activated a small aviation contingent that are on site and are performing missions,’’ said William Manley, deputy communications director for the Florida Department of Military Affairs and the Florida National Guard on Tuesday.
The Florida National Guard is comprised of about 12,000 military personnel and 450 civilians. It receives more than $454 million in federal funds and about $18 million in state funding each year.
According to state statute, the Guard is tasked with being prepared for combat, emergencies, responding to disaster and civil disturbances, reducing the importation of controlled substances and assisting Floridians at risk. The Guard’s last state mission was in providing security for the governor’s inauguration in Tallahassee on Jan. 3.
FWC officers make most frequent migrant contacts
The state agency with the most frequent contact with migrants is the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The agency uses two vessels — the 42-foot vessel “Fearless” with three crew members and the 85-foot vessel “Gulf Sentry” with six crew members — who work with federal agencies to assist with “information gathering, humanitarian response, search and rescue efforts, critical infrastructure protection, officer safety and assistance, emergency medical services and other similar duties,’’ said Ashlee Sklute, spokesperson for the agency.
To assist with the migrant surge, and in response to the governor’s executive order, FWC has stationed five more large vessels in the Keys and deployed an additional 15 officers and one mechanic to assist, Sklute said.
“These officers and equipment will provide local officers with much needed relief and enable agencies to reallocate some personnel back to their normal law enforcement duties,’’ she said.
FWC officers “will be supporting water interdictions by detecting migrant vessels, vectoring appropriate assets to their location and ensuring the safety of migrants attempting to reach Florida through the Florida Straits,’’ Sklute said.
The officers also assess and document migrant vessels abandoned along Florida’s coastline. Disposing of the abandoned vessels has become a burden of local communities.
When FWC officers detect a migrant vessel, they do not take custody of people on them but instead leave that job to federal officials, she said. “They will remain in the vicinity to ensure the vessel’s occupants are not in need of emergency medical services until the appropriate federal authorities arrive.”
Over the weekend, the Coast Guard reported that it repatriated 273 Cuban migrants after intercepting a number of boats off the Florida coast on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
The wisest approach for the state to take is one of assisting federal authorities, said Petit, of the Florida Immigration Coalition.
“Once somebody reaches land, the state has no more power over that person and that person becomes the responsibility of Customs and Border Patrol,’’ she said.
Assets Florida is deploying
According to a news release issued late Tuesday by the the Division of Emergency Management, the agencies involved in the mission include:
— The National Guard, which has deployed 100 to 150 guardsmen and 12 helicopters and aircraft "to coordinate operational efforts with the U.S. Coast Guard and FWC aviation teams.”
— The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, whose vessels will assist with migrant landings around the Marquesas Keys and the Dry Tortugas, conduct aviation surveillance, and provide a base camp and command posts in Marathon and Key West for FWC personnel.
— The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which has deployed nearly two dozen members and a mobile command bus in Monroe County. An FDLE aircraft was spotted in the Keys Tuesday, and an agent said it was searching for migrant vessels.
— The Florida Highway Patrol, which has deployed 25 troopers, two fixed-wing aircraft and one mobile command bus.
Since the election of President Joe Biden, Republican governors like Abbott and DeSantis projected their frustration with the federal government’s handling of the immigration crisis that preceded him and their actions have raised persistent questions about whether they have “overstepped” their roles.
“A governor can do what it wants with their National Guard but they can’t violate federal law and can’t announce he is taking over border security in his state and handle it as he sees fit, the federal government be damned,’’ said Joseph Nunn, a counsel with the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program. “What the governor of Texas has done with Operation Lone Star is pretty close to that.”
But to Jessica Vaughan, director of policy students at the Center for Immigration Studies, a conservative think tank that advocates for stricter immigration policies, “DeSantis and Abbott are looking for ways to do the job that federal government doesn’t want to do.”
Since the governor’s executive order Friday, the number of migrant arrivals has slowed. On Sunday, only two landings were reported. On Monday, there were none, but on Tuesday, there were several migrant boats spotted in the Keys.
Petit, of the Florida Immigrant Coalition, said the governor’s order also was intended to send a message to a segment of Republican base voters animated over immigration.
“It’s more of a political tactic to keep immigration in the forefront of the news as the biggest political issue to impact elections, create fear and build some sort of recognition for a particular politician,’’ she said.
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(Michael Wilner of the McClatchy Washington bureau contributed to this report from Washington, and Miami Herald reporter David Goodhue contributed from the Florida Keys.)
