U.S. Rep. Cory Mills claims to have assisted 23 Americans in fleeing Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which has descended into chaos as criminal gangs have overcome government forces.
“Our team has now successfully rescued and evacuated more Americans than (President Joe) Biden and his entire administration,” the Florida Republican tweeted on X. “Americans deserve government support. Not the pattern of desertion that this administration has demonstrated.”
Mills did not immediately return a request for comment. He told the Washington Examiner that he became involved last week after receiving a request for aid from U.S. Rep. Lisa McClain, a Michigan Republican, on behalf of the Have Faith orphanage, founded by author Mitch Albom.
“Thanks to the efforts of Representatives Cory Mills and Lisa McClain and a brave team of pilots, 10 volunteers were able to evacuate Haiti safely via helicopter in the dark and early hours of Tuesday morning,” according to an Instagram post from the previous week.
Mills stated that he saved 255 Americans from Israel following the Hamas bombings on October 7, as well as another evacuation of US nationals from Afghanistan when the military withdrew in 2021.
Mills planned an escape from a secret place.
Albom, the author of “Tuesdays With Morrie,” said in his Detroit Free Press column that Mills orchestrated an escape from a hidden place in the middle of the night.
“Go! Go! Go!” Mills directed the evacuation as they poured into a helicopter, hoping they wouldn’t be shot at by the gangs in control.
“Foreigners and volunteers are forced to find their own way out, with no help from their embassies,” he wrote. “And trapped in the middle are innocent civilians, millions of them, including 60 precious children at the orphanage I have operated for the last 14 years.”
A second Mills effort over the weekend yielded 13 more.
A US flight rescued 30 Americans in Cap-Haïtien.
Albom’s message about saving more Americans than the Biden administration follows a U.S. government-chartered flight from Haiti that carried over 30 Americans with US passports from Cap-Haïtien to Miami on Sunday.
According to Vedant Patel, a deputy spokeswoman for the US Department of State, approximately 1,000 Americans have filled out a crisis intake form in Haiti, which has been a Level 4 Do Not Travel state since 2020.
In what he described as a “fluid and quickly evolving situation,” Patel made no assurances about chartering more flights. He went on to say that the government had “no higher priority than the safety and security of American citizens.”
“U.S. citizens should not travel to Haiti and those in Haiti should depart immediately, using commercial or other private transportation options when available and safe to do so,” Patel told reporters at a news conference on Monday.
Mills served in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mills is in his second year in the United States House of Representatives. He was elected in 2022 to Florida’s 7th District, which includes both northern Seminole and southern Volusia counties.
Mills served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo throughout his time in the Army. Following his military career, he co-founded Pacem Solution International LLC and Pacem Defense LLC, which provide intelligence and security in remote locations.
Haiti’s prime minister resigned amid gang violence.
Earlier this month, Haiti’s Prime Minister Ariel Henry resigned after heavily armed gangs attacked police and military personnel in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. Gangs have taken control of critical portions of the city, including the airport, creating dangerous conditions for Americans attempting to flee.
Following President Jovenel Moïse’s assassination in July 2021, Henry began his brief reign. However, due to the continuous turmoil, he postponed elections several times.
Many Haitians have fled the country due to high levels of violence and poverty. 138,000 people have sought shelter in the United States through the Biden administration’s humanitarian parole program, which also extends to Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans.
Flights to Port-au-Prince were canceled due to gang violence.
Gangs have besieged the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, preventing Henry from returning. Flights to Port-au-Prince have been canceled.
On March 11, ten Americans, including Albom, were rescued by helicopter and flown over the border to the Dominican Republic.
Many Haitian Americans have sent money to their families, who are in financial distress and attempting to flee the island. According to the United States Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, around 1.1 million Americans were born in Haiti or have Haitian ancestry.