Biden Administration to Deport Haitians in South Texas

WASHINGTON – The Biden administration announced on Saturday that it would swiftly begin deporting Haitians who gathered by the thousands on the southern border last week after illegally entering the United States.

The move is intended to alleviate the flooding in the southern Texas border town of Del Rio and prevent more Haitians from coming to the United States, a strategy harshly criticized by human rights groups and opposed by some democratic lawmakers.

The Biden government has three flights scheduled for Sunday and more could be scheduled for the coming days, according to an official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss evolving plans. The flights go to Haiti as well as to countries in South America where the migrants live.

According to the plan drawn up by the Department of Homeland Security, the administration will “increase the pace and capacity of deportation flights to Haiti and other destinations” over the next 72 hours. Many details of the plan – like the number of people on each flight or the treatment of people before they are put on a flight – were not immediately clear on Saturday.

The government suspended return flights to Haiti after the devastating earthquake in August, which was followed by a violent tropical storm after weeks of unrest. But last week’s sudden spike in migrant crossings has led US officials to change their plans.

More than 14,000 Haitians, many with mattresses, fruit, diapers and blankets, have crossed the ankle-deep river between Mexico and Del Rio and are camping under a bridge, awaiting clearance by the United States Border Patrol. Some seek work in the United States, while others flee violence or racial discrimination in other countries.

To ease pressure on resources, the Department of Homeland Security said it has dispatched 400 agents to the Del Rio area and will dispatch additional personnel if necessary.

The assassination of the President of Haiti

It is said to also transfer migrants to other parts of the border that are currently less overwhelmed than Del Rio, a town of about 35,000 residents surrounded by mostly ranch land, thorny shrubbery, and mesquite trees and about 250 miles west of San Antonio lies.

Many of the migrants arrived after months of traveling overland from Brazil and Chile, where they were granted residence permits after an earthquake in 2010. The economies of these countries have been hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

Others have left for the border after traveling directly to Mexico from Haiti days or months ago.

Return flights to Haiti come as the Biden administration appeals a court ruling halting Trump-era policies of preventing migrant families from entering the United States, a policy long criticized by immigration and human rights activists became, and even Vice President Kamala Harris as a Senator.

“This government has talked a lot about wanting a humane asylum system,” said Lee Gelernt, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney and the head of litigation against what is known as Title 42 health policy. “It is appalling that the administration sends a blanket message that the border is closed without recognizing that asylum seekers have no choice but to flee and get to safety.”

Eileen Sullivan reported from Washington and Miriam Jordan from Los Angeles.