DRJ Statement on The Florida Division of Emergency Management

In February 2023 Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature created the “Unauthorized Alien Transportation Program” to be run by the Florida Division of Emergency Management. This legalized and funded his effort to send migrants from the south to other states across the country including Massachusetts, and most recently California. As California Attorney General Rob Bonta recently said, “this is state-sanctioned kidnapping”.

This is a morally reprehensible policy choice and dangerous use of the emergency management system. 

 Disaster researchers consistently find that one of the most fundamental factors in an effective emergency management program is community trust. In co-opting the state emergency management agency as a tool of oppression, the state of Florida is risking further erosion of trust with the public – particularly undocumented residents, potentially exposing employees to litigation, and putting critical funds in the millions of dollars towards extraneous functions.

 Disaster Researchers for Justice stands in solidarity with the people who have been harmed by these actions, and the agencies and organizations in receiving states working to help the migrants upon their forced arrival.

 Disaster Researchers for Justice also calls on our colleagues within the profession of emergency management – including the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM), the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to call out this egregious action. We ask them to use their substantial influence to help bring the program to an end.

Further, this is an urgent reminder of the need for an enforceable code of ethics for the profession of emergency management that centers the well-being and humanity of all people regardless of citizenship.