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US begins to deport Haitian migrants from Texas border camp

US authorities have moved 3,300 migrants since Friday from Del Rio, Texas after nearly 15,000 migrants camped near the border.

US President Joe Biden promised a more humane approach to immigration than his predecessor Donald Trump, but the veteran Democrat has fought to stem the tide of migrants crossing the border since he took office in January. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]
Published On 20 Sep 2021

US border agents have begun expelling planeloads of mostly Haitian migrants from a large makeshift camp they had set up on the Texas border with Mexico, with repatriation flights arriving in Haiti on Sunday.

In recent days, more than 15,000 Haitians crossed into the United States from Mexico and found themselves stranded for days in Texas under a bridge spanning the Rio Grande River, blocked from moving onwards.

Washington began sending back members of this group on Sunday, with three flights full of Haitian nationals landing in the capital Port-au-Prince after taking off from Texas hours earlier.

Migrant families sent back to Haiti are angry at their treatment and fearful of returning home to a life punctuated by gang violence.

“[US President Joe] Biden knows well what is happening, but he doesn’t care,” said one woman, tears streaming down her face as she described her time at a US migrant detention facility in Texas.

“He treated us, and our children, worse than animals,” she told the AFP news agency.

Rolin Petit Homme, a 35-year-old Haitian who had camped out under the bridge, said he will now try to eke out a living in Mexico rather than go back home. “There’s no safety in Haiti and there’s no work,” he told Reuters news agency.

The latest migrant surge marks a new challenge for the US authorities, who have sought to reduce the flow of Central Americans and now hundreds of Haitians who have fled rampant poverty, gang violence and seemingly non-stop natural disasters back home.

US authorities have moved 3,300 migrants since Friday from Del Rio, Texas.

US Customs and Border Protection mounted officers attempt to contain migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas. [Felix Marquez/AP Photo]
Thousands of Haitian migrants have been arriving in Del Rio, Texas, as authorities attempt to close the border to stop the flow of migrants. [Felix Marquez/AP Photo]
National Guardsmen watch over a fence near the international bridge where thousands of Haitian migrants have created a makeshift camp in Del Rio, Texas. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]
Migrants wait for a bus after they were processed and released after spending time at a makeshift camp near the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas. [Eric Gay/AP Photo]
Haitians who were deported from the United States arrive at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. [Joseph Odelyn/AP Photo]
The deportation of Haitian migrants had been suspended by Washington after a devastating earthquake hit the Caribbean nation last month. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
A Haitian policeman waits for the arrival of migrants deported from the US to the Toussaint Louverture International Airport. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
'If I had been able to work, I never would have left [Haiti],' Jeanne, who was deported, said. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
The first three flights arrived in Haiti carrying 327 returned migrants, according to a US official. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
In recent days, more than 15,000 Haitians crossed into the US from Mexico and found themselves stranded for days in Texas under a bridge spanning the Rio Grande River, blocked from moving onwards. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]
US Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz said the next week the government aims to 'quickly' process 12,662 migrants from underneath the bridge that links Del Rio with Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. [Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo]