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The Biden administration is rapidly deporting thousands of Haitian migrants who have been camped at a Texas border town seeking entry to the U.S.
More than 14,000 refugees, most of them Haitian, have been camping out for days in squalid conditions under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas. Some 3,300 people from the camp have already been sent to detention centers or removed on deportation flights by U.S. immigration agents, USA Today reports.
The Biden administration has forcefully condemned the treatment of Haitian asylum seekers by border patrol.
But more concerning is them denying Haitians their legal right to an asylum claim. No more deportations without hearings. pic.twitter.com/P86KYX6f9k
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) September 21, 2021
More deportation flights to Haiti are planned in the coming days.
Border patrol is mounted on horseback rounding up Haitian refugees with whips.
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This is unfathomable cruelty towards people fleeing disaster and political ruin. The administration must stop this. pic.twitter.com/BSjT91NSj0
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) September 20, 2021
“This is why your country’s shit” a border patrol agent screams at a Haitian as he almost runs down a child with his horse.
Zero fucking humanity. pic.twitter.com/b6QSxXgjdI
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) September 20, 2021
In a release Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security said it was expelling most of the migrants using Title 42 ― a Trump-era policy that allows the U.S., during the coronavirus pandemic, to quickly deport people crossing the border, typically without processing them for asylum.
Video and photos showed Border Patrol agents on horseback whipping ropes at Haitian refugees on Sunday. The refugees had reportedly gone into Mexico to buy food, and were seeking to return to the camp on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande.
Immigrant rights groups expressed outrage, urging U.S. Customs and Border Protection to “stop this discrimination” and slamming the Biden administration for choosing to “shut the door” on Haitians seeking safety.
When asked Monday about the violent images of CBP agents on horseback threatening migrants, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that while she didn’t have the “full context” of what was happening in these incidents, “I don’t think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate.”
The images of inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants by Border Patrol—including the use of whips—are unacceptable
They are fleeing violence and natural disaster and seeking protection in our country
The Administration must uphold our refugee laws and stop Title 42 deportations
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) September 21, 2021
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that the footage is “extremely troubling” and an investigation will be “conducted swiftly,” adding that the agency “does not tolerate the abuse of migrants in our custody.” In a subsequent statement to reporters Monday, Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said he believed the agents were “trying to control” their animals but that officials would investigate the incident.
The Biden administration’s use of Title 42 to deny Haitians fleeing desperate situations their legal right to make an asylum claim is just wrong. They should reverse course. https://t.co/oHlYJQp0pS
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) September 21, 2021
Advocates have condemned the Biden administration for resuming deportations to Haiti, a country mired in turmoil from the assassination of its president in July and an earthquake in August that killed more than 2,000 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who herself came to the U.S. as a refugee from Somalia, denounced the videos of CBP agents wielding whip-like ropes as “human rights abuses, plain and simple.” She urged the Biden administration to “humanely process asylum seekers at our border.”
The images of Haitians being treated like animals by officers on horseback are appalling.
Worse still, Haitians are fleeing disaster, poverty, and political turmoil, only to be denied the legal right to an asylum claim.
It’s wrong—under Joe Biden or any president.
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) September 21, 2021
“Instead of stepping up deportation, we should be halting it,” Omar said.
The inhumane treatment of refugees & migrants at the border must immediately end.
The deplorable actions depicted by CBP are condemnable as no human should be treated as cattle. All humans deserve to be treated with dignity & respect, especially the most vulnerable amongst us. https://t.co/W9f8NCBSMb
— Texas Democrats (@texasdemocrats) September 21, 2021
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) joined dozens of Democratic lawmakers last week in calling on the Biden administration to cease deportation flights to Haiti.
I am outraged. These are people. Human beings.
So many Haitian immigrants and refugees came to this country to escape devastation — only to be greeted by being whipped and handcuffed.@POTUS, you must put an immediate stop to this. We demand better. They deserve better. https://t.co/LRBxsdbSDe
— Cori Bush (@CoriBush) September 21, 2021
On Monday, in apparent response to the administration’s treatment of Haitian refugees at the border, Pressley tweeted: “Seeking asylum is a human right.” – The Huffington Post
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