According to two US officials, many Haitian migrants who were camped out in a small Texas border town are being released into the United States, despite the public statements that the Biden administration made that those in the camp are to face immediate expulsion.
One US official who spoke on condition of anonymity put the figure in the thousands. He said that Haitians had been freed on a “very, very large scale” recently.
CBS reported that many immigrants were released and given notices to appear at the immigration office within 60 days.
The official said that the Homeland Security Department had bused Haitians along the Texas border from Del Rio to El Paso, Laredo, and the Valley of Rio Grande and added planes to Tucson, Arizona. At certain locations, the Border Patrol processes them.
A second US official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, indicated that many Haitians were processed in accordance with immigration legislation and were not aboard expulsion flights to Haiti on Sunday.
Both sources indicated that US authorities tried for buses to Tucson in recent days but had to resort to flights when they couldn’t find enough transportation contractors. Haitians were flown from Del Rio to El Paso by Coast Guard planes.
Despite the warning of a large attempt to remove Haitians on aircraft to Haiti under pandemic-related authority that denies refugees the right to request asylum, the releases in the United States continued taking place.
According to a third US official who was not authorized to discuss operations, seven daily flights to Haiti will begin on Wednesday.
Wide-scale releases, some of which Associated Press journalists witnessed at the Del Rio bus terminal, contradict assurances made a day earlier by Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who flew to Del Rio to guarantee speedy action.
During Monday’s news conference, he said, “If you come to the United States illegally, you will be returned, your journey will not succeed, and you will be endangering your life and your family’s life.”
The release comes after officials tried to clear the camp under the bridge, which reportedly held over 14,000 people in a small town of only 35,00o. On Tuesday, after Gov Greg Abbott’s visit, there were estimated to be 8,600 migrants in Del Rio.
Although the procedures for choosing who is flown to Haiti and who is freed in the United States are unclear, two US officials claimed single adults were given preference for expulsion flights.
On Tuesday, authorities said that Mexico has been moving migrants away from the US border.
Currently, The White House is facing bipartisan condemnation. Republicans claim that the Biden administration policies have led Haitians to think they would get asylum.
All over social media and news outlets, Democrats are expressing their outrage over images that went viral this week of Border Patrol agents on horseback using whips on Haitian migrants.
On Tuesday, Mexico’s foreign relations secretary, Marcelo Ebrard, said he had spoken with his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, about the Haitians’ situation. According to Ebrard, most of the Haitians had refugee status in Chile or Brazil and weren’t seeking it in Mexico.
Ebrard said, “What they are asking for is to be allowed to pass freely through Mexico to the United States.”
Mexico’s actions were confirmed by two Mexican federal officials who wanted to remain anonymous.
According to one of the officials, on Tuesday, three busloads of migrants left Acuna for Piedras Negras, where they boarded a flight to the southern city of Villahermosa in Tabasco.
Another official said that the plan was to move all Haitians who already solicited asylum in Mexico to Tapachula.
Other Haitian migrants at Mexico’s detention centers who have not requested asylum will be flown directly back to Haiti once Mexico starts the flights.
Back in Haiti, many upset migrants tried to rush back onto a plane that landed yesterday after being deported from the US.
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