19797: Esser: Haitian crisis room set up in Miami (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: torx@joimail.com

The Miami Herald
http://www.miami.com

Thu, Mar. 04, 2004

Haitian crisis room set up in Miami

By ALFONSO CHARDY

achardy@herald.com

Federal officials have set up a crisis room in downtown Miami to
monitor developments in Haiti.

The Homeland Security Task Force Southeast, set up Feb. 20 but
announced only on Monday, was created to ensure a quick federal
response to any possible mass exodus of Haitian refugees.

A Homeland Security statement said the task force serves as a
''single command and support structure'' to oversee increased Coast
Guard operations near Haiti to intercept Haitian refugees.

Agencies assigned to the task force include Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security
Administration, Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S.
Coast Guard.

''While we see no indicators of a mass migration from Haiti, our
first responsibility to the American public is to prevent security
threats from ever materializing,'' Coast Guard Rear Admiral Harvey E.
Johnson, the task force director, said in the statement.
.