US: Treatment of Haitian Migrants Discriminatory

(Washington, DC) – The U.S. deployment of border guards on horseback against Haitian migrants on September 19, 2021 resulted from the abusive and racially discriminatory immigration policies of President Joe Biden’s administration, Human Rights Watch said today. The day before, the Department of Homeland Security announced a six-step “strategy to deal with the surge in migrants in” [the Texas border city of] Del Rio ”, which included a“ surge ”of agents to“ improve control of the area ”and new evacuation flights to Haiti.

Haitians are being returned to Haiti under a U.S. policy called Title 42, which segregates asylum seekers entering the United States at land borders – particularly those from Central America, Africa and Haiti who are disproportionately black, indigenous and Latino – for displacement. The expulsions are purportedly for public health reasons, but they are discriminatory and abusive. In contrast, thousands of other travelers can enter the United States.

“The US government completely disregarded the right to seek asylum when it sent agents on horseback to control and deter this largely black migrant population,” said Alison Parker, US executive director of Human Rights Watch. “This violent treatment of Haitians at the border is just the latest example of racially discriminatory, abusive and illegal US border policies that are leading people back to humanitarian disaster.”

The rescheduled flights are the latest in a series of expulsions the government has carried out to Haiti, despite leaked documents showing Homeland Security officials warned that migrants and asylum seekers who have returned to Haiti will be “harmed” could, including violent crime and kidnapping, political crisis and civil unrest. In August, Human Rights Watch and 343 other civil society organizations, the Haitian Bridge Alliance and the Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI), appealed to President Biden to stop deportations to Haiti, citing similar human rights concerns.

It was only in May that the US government realized that political unrest and human rights violations were making it impossible for Haitians to return safely to their country, which prompted the DHS to grant Haitians in the US temporary protection status (TPS) from May. Under US law, this status does not apply to newcomers.

Since the announcement of the six-step strategy, the DHS has reportedly expelled Haitians from Del Rio on five to eight flights a day and banned people who fled Haiti by sea. These procedures reflect the abusive policies of recent years when Haitian asylum seekers were sentenced to prison and unceremoniously repatriated, although some were eventually arrested and screened for asylum at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, or on ships. The government’s policy of denying Haitians the right to challenge their deportation to a country where they could be harmed is against US and international law, according to Human Rights Watch.

Human Rights Watch and other groups have urged the government to end the Title 42 policy, which provides expulsions because it is illegal and based on false public health justifications. In May Homeland Security medical experts filed a disclosure condemning the Title 42 directive, saying there was no valid public health justification.

“The Biden Administration’s continued use of Title 42 to justify returning people to Haiti is inconsistent with public health best practice and international human rights law,” said Parker. “If Biden does not change course, he risks emptying his promise of a ‘nationwide initiative to combat racial justice and support underserved communities and the redress for systemic racism in state policies, laws and programs.'”

The Del Rio images and videos of mostly white federal agents on horseback swinging long reins and chasing black migrants recall the often untested and troubling U.S. history of racial and ethnic violence, including through border patrols, slave patrols and vigilante groups, Human Rights Watch said . Such a legacy of discrimination has resulted in how many people in the United States experience law enforcement today. In 2019, local Texas law enforcement agencies recognized the “negative perception” of their actions and apologized after a picture was posted online showing white police officers leading an arrested, handcuffed black man while he was on their horses.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said, “I cannot imagine the context in which this would be appropriate,” when asked about the recent borderline images, while refusing to acknowledge the need for accountability for excessive use of force Leave a Comment.

Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas, who traveled to Del Rio told the media: “Long reins are used to maintain control of the horse, but we will investigate the facts to make sure the situation is as we understand it”. . If not, we will respond accordingly. ”The DHS then announced a disciplinary investigation into the“ extremely disturbing ”footage and stated that Mayorkas had ordered internal oversight of the agents’ behavior at the Del Rio migrant camp.

The Biden administration should actively address the history of systemic racism in enforcing U.S. Immigration Services and urgently review racially discriminatory policies such as Title 42, Human Rights Watch said.

“The use of Title 42 follows a long, tragic, and filthy history in which the US government banned Haitian migrants and asylum seekers and unceremoniously returned them,” said Parker. “Instead of pursuing tough, racially discriminatory and illegal policies against a predominantly black group of people, the Biden government should clearly break with this story and ensure equal treatment for all.”