Del Rio, which means “river,” is a town in southern Texas that borders Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. Residents in both cities are used to crossing the border daily for work, visitation, and other reasons. Since Friday, they haven’t been able to do so when authorities shut the border to block immigrants from crossing or camping beneath the border bridge.
Over the weekend, people who benefit from employment on either side were stranded. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott stated that the border needed to be sealed. Residents complained about migrants wandering outside their homes, and authorities arrested those who crossed illegally, but barriers and fences were placed too late to stop them from entering Del Rio.
Around 15,000 migrants, mainly from Haiti, camped underneath the international bridge as they left their country’s dire economic conditions and violence, searching for refuge and possibly seeking asylum in the United States. Unfortunately for them, 400 additional agents and officers have been dispatched to assist in transporting migrants from the encampment to specific sites where they will be processed before deportation to Haiti, which had already begun on Sunday.
News outlets received pictures and videos of what appeared to be border patrol agents mistreating migrants while gathering them up for relocation. On Tuesday, The White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki condemned the acts saying, “I don’t know anyone who could watch that video and not have that emotion.” The secretary of Homeland Security, Mayorkas, promised an independent government inquiry and an internal review to clarify the processing of migrants at the border.
Based on President Joe Biden’s opposition to closed borders, there is a widespread misconception that the country has an open border policy for asylum seekers. They risked their lives and hoped for a better future in the United States, only to be deported shortly after arriving.
Following the Biden Administration’s decision to deport Haitians, Daniel Foote, the United States’ Special Envoy to Haiti, resigned yesterday because he did not want to be associated with the inhumane deportation action. Especially after president Moise’s assassination and the recent earthquake, gangs’ violent activity towards their people, and the prime minister’s resignation linked to the late president’s murder. Foote asserted that Haiti is unlikely to support its citizen. Texas governor criticized the Biden Administration for lack of resources, and he is now concerned that migrants would find another means to breach the border.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group Blog. If you are in need of legal help, the CIMA Law Group is a law firm in Phoenix, Arizona which possesses expertise in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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