Candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell calls for humanitarian aid for Haiti; she’s challenging Rick Scott

Central governance has broken down in Haiti. Credit: Getty Images

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Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former U.S. House member and Democratic candidate challenging incumbent GOP U.S. Sen. Rick Scott in 2024, held a press conference Monday, saying the crisis in Haiti demanded urgent attention from the federal government to support law enforcement and send emergency humanitarian aid.

The escalating gang violence and high risk of famine have thrown the island country into distress, according to a report by the United Nations.

“We must support the Haitian people and their fight for democracy and their fight for security. Without a clear path forward, this situation will only continue to deteriorate leaving millions of Haitians vulnerable to starvation and to violence,” Mucarsel-Powell said during the press conference. “The U.S. must do everything in our power to secure democracy in Haiti, to support the Haitian people, for their safety, and for our own national security. Countless countless lives depend on it, and I know that we can do better.”

A former Congresswoman who represented Miami-Dade and Florida Keys in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2019-21, she said she is committed to using her platform to highlight issues important to Florida’s Haitian community.

U.S. Senate candidate Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (photo credit: Mucarsel-Powell campaign)

“Haiti is only 600 or so miles away from our coasts, but you’d think that it doesn’t even exist sometimes, based on the way that our leaders have completely turned a deaf ear to the Haitian community,” Mucarsel-Powell said.

Democratic Rep. Marie Woodson of Broward and Miami-Dade counties joined the press conference Monday. Woodson, who is from Port-de-Paix, Haiti, said that so far the response from Gov. Ron DeSantis lacked compassion. Last Wednesday, DeSantis mobilized 250 additional officers and soldiers and over a dozen air and sea craft in the Florida State Guard to the southern coast to act against “a potential influx of illegal immigrants” from Haiti.

“Right now, with the crisis that’s going on, the governor has mobilized the State Guard. Now, where is the humanity in this whole thing? Where’s the compassion that we expect? I’m serving in the state legislature, I don’t see the compassion that I need to see at this time,” Woodson said.

She continued: “If it was your family or anybody else who were in the situation, you would use compassion. You would reach out and see how you can help instead of just standing by to send them back to what they are going through in Haiti. So at this time, we are saying enough is enough. We want people who truly care, people who can stand up in the time of crisis and be with us.”

The state is trying to help Floridians unable to leave Haiti. The state’s Division of Emergency Management opened an online portal to allow Floridians in Haiti to register for assistance amid the unrest in the country.

Former governor and sitting Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida. Official Senate portrait; U.S. Senate website

Another speaker at the press conference Monday, Haitian attorney Frandley Julien, criticized Scott and Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio.

“I remember when Rick Scott was running for the (U.S.) Senate. He came to the community. I was there at the Haitian American Chamber of Commerce,” Julien said. “He promised to listen to the community. He said, If I’m elected, I would be listening to you. That’s not what we’re seeing today. Both Rubio and Scott have been resoundingly silent on what’s happening in Haiti,” he said. “Our governor, DeSantis, he wants to hurt instead of helping, and our senators are silent about it.”

Late last week, Rubio and Scott sent a letter March 15 to President Joe Biden, saying that allowing unvetted immigrants from Haiti to come to the U.S. would put national security at risk. However, they advocated for targeted American assistance to the country.

Also, Rubio, early on, commented on X (formerly Twitter), saying on March 4: “A catastrophic humanitarian & migratory crisis with no easy answers is brewing just 700 miles from Florida as violent street gangs are on the verge of a complete take over of Haiti.”

This story has been updated.

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