Boat of 24 Illegal Haitian Immigrants Intercepted Off Florida’s Atlantic Coast

Gov. Ron DeSantis announces deployment of National Guard, State Guard, and other law enforcement officers to the Texas border at a press conference in Jacksonville, Fla. on Feb. 1, 2024 (Courtesy of The Florida Channel).

WHITE HAVEN, Fla.—A boat of 24 illegal Haitian immigrants was apprehended near Florida’s Sebastian Inlet on Feb. 29, state authorities confirmed on March 15.

According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife (FWC) Commission, two FWC officers were conducting nighttime water-based patrol when they discovered a 42-foot boat approaching from offshore containing 24 illegal Haitian immigrants, including five children, drugs, night vision gear, and a captain who was armed with guns.

The officers “knew they had intercepted a human smuggling operation” the moment they intercepted the vessel, according to the news release.

The smuggled passengers were “lying prone,”or face down, on the deck of the boat when it was discovered by authorities.

The male boat captain and one female passenger, both U.S. citizens, were arrested and turned over to the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO). The case was also referred to both BCSO and the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol for further investigation.

FWC’s public announcement of the case on March 15 comes just days after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he would dedicate significant state resources to combat illegal immigrants coming from Haiti.

“Given the circumstances in Haiti, I have directed the Division of Emergency Management, the Florida State Guard, and state law enforcement agencies to deploy over 250 additional officers and soldiers and over a dozen air and sea craft to the southern coast of Florida to protect our state,” Mr. DeSantis said on March 13 in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The direction came amid rising concerns about the fallout of the ongoing crisis in Haiti. The Caribbean country has been engulfed by chaos fueled in part by gang wars that spiraled out of control after the 2021 assassination of the country’s president. The country has been without a standing army or a well-funded national police force for decades, even before the 2010 earthquake that killed roughly 220,00 people and threw the country into a humanitarian crisis.

The governor commented on the boat of illegal Haitian immigrants at a March 15 press conference at the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Winter Haven, Florida.

“Our (FWC) officers interdicted a vessel that had 25 illegal immigrants, potentially illegal immigrants from Haiti. In their boat and their vessel, they had firearms, [and] they had drugs. They had night vision gear and were boating very recklessly, which would potentially endanger other folks.”

He confirmed the boat was intercepted near Sebastian Inlet and said the illegal immigrants were turned over to the Coast Guard for immediate deportation.

Mr. DeSantis reaffirmed that Florida officials had been helping with these efforts long before he augmented them with additional resources in March but emphasized that it’s “not really [Florida’s] responsibility.”

“This is the federal government’s responsibility. Coast Guard does by and large a good job, but they’re undermanned. They’re under-resourced, so we’re filling those gaps,” he said.

“I think one difference now is, and we see this with our folks that we have at the border—you have people coming across the southern border from all over the world. Haitians can get to the United States easier by flying to Mexico and walking across the border,” Mr. DeSantis added.

“We’re obviously doing things to interdict these illegal vessels, which I think is really important. But [President Joe] Biden is also flouting the law by creating an illegal parole program where he flies in people from foreign countries against the law and puts them into our communities,” the governor noted.

He reiterated the federal government’s responsibility to prevent these illegal crossings, whether by boat or land.

“For example, you just had an instance where one of the people Biden flew in from Haiti is now charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old with disabilities in Massachusetts. And you think to yourself, how is that protecting our people? You’re putting ... our own people at risk,” Mr. DeSantis said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the BCSO and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) but did not receive a response prior to publication.

This isn’t the first boat of illegal Haitian immigrants that was intercepted by U.S. authorities in 2024.

The U.S. Coast Guard repatriated 65 illegal immigrants to Haiti on March 12 after apprehending their vessel near Great Inagua, Bahamas on March 7.

The boat, sailing “in distress,” was first seen by a citizen who notified the Seventh Coast Guard District command center.

“The Coast Guard’s primary mission as a member of the Homeland Security Task Force- Southeast is to preserve human life at sea,” Capt. Willie Carmichael, Incident Commander for Operation Vigilant Sentry said in a news release.

“The maritime environment is inherently dangerous and can become deadly aboard crowded unseaworthy vessels. The Coast Guard will continue working with our HSTF-SE partners to rescue and repatriate anyone attempting irregular migration via sea routes, regardless of their nationality.”

U.S. authorities have deported 131 illegal immigrants back to Haiti since Oct. 1, 2023, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

In a DHS fact sheet, authorities say the U.S. government has provided legal pathways for more than 63,000 Haitians to be vetted and travel to the country legally between January 2023 and June 2023 alone, with more than 50,000 having already arrived.

The DHS says Haitians who have been interdicted at sea after April 27, 2023, are ineligible for these processes.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.