In a guest op-ed for RealClearWorld.com, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) warned President Joe Biden against encouraging mass illegal immigration from Haiti.
Below is an excerpt from his op-ed.
The Biden Administration seems unaware that many Haitians view the D.R. as a stepping stone to Puerto Rico—and that a well-established smuggling ring to facilitate that journey already exists. Because our fellow Americans in Puerto Rico have their own fiscal constraints, illegal migrants that reach the U.S. territory would likely move on to the continental United States….
I support the international peacekeeping mission that Kenya proposes to lead once Haiti has established a provisional government. In addition, I have reintroduced legislation to preserve U.S. trade benefits for Haitian manufacturers, which could prove a lifeline to legitimate Haitian businesses in this time of crisis.
But…I cannot support illegal mass migration[,] because the job of elected officials is to protect their citizens first, not anyone else’s.
This is why I have asked the U.S. State Department to prioritize U.S. citizens trapped in Haiti, as well as their adopted Haitian children. Moreover, it’s why we cannot allow Haitian citizens to surge across our borders. As U.S. Senator Rick Scott and I noted in a recent letter to President Biden, Haiti is rife with gangs, and jailbreaks have allegedly released thousands of dangerous criminals. This means illegal mass migration from Haiti would put Americans at risk….
