WASHINGTON -- The Department of Homeland Security is "formulating" plans in case Haitians try to flee their earthquake-ravaged country for the United States, federal officials told FOX News.

For more than three decades, Haitians have been trying to come to the United States by boat, whether driven by poverty or political strife. As of Thursday afternoon, the U.S. Coast Guard had not encountered anyone in the waters off Haiti trying to reach the U.S.mainland, according to one official, but top U.S. officials have been engaged in "continuing discussions" in case things change, sources say.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and other top department officials have been conferring with the heads of the U.S.Coast Guard, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Services about "our capabilities in the region," one source said.

One Homeland Security official described the "continuing discussions" within the department as "a process to figure out what the posture's going to be" if Haitians try to flee what was already considered one of the poorest countries in the world.

In the end, the "senior leadership" at Homeland Security, in  consultation with the Defense Department and Justice Department, will make the final decision, the official said.

A top military official told reporters on Thursday that his department is hoping to prevent a mass exodus of Haitians by working"very aggressively" to "mitigate their tragedy," particularly through major relief efforts.

"We've got a lot of work to do, and we're securing and getting those relief efforts in there," said Gen. Douglas Fraser, commander of U.S.Southern Command. "That's what we're going to continue to do, and that's the best way we can reduce the aspect of people wanting to leave the island."

If those efforts fail and Haitians do try to flee, several "options are on the table," one official said.

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