The recordings come from the border town of Del Rio. “People should never be treated that way,” said USVice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday looking at photos and videos of the mounted US– Border guards obviously show up rounding up migrants. The pictures are “terrible”.
The situation in Del Rio with thousands of migrants from Haiti had recently come to a head. The people there are waiting under a bridge, the government of President Joe Biden continues to rely on mass expulsions. Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas said an investigation into the incidents was ongoing. Any abuse of a migrant is unacceptable, Mayorkas said. Images in which officials were obviously swinging whip-like objects, which Mayorkas later referred to as long reins, met with particularly strong criticism.
Thousands of people had taken the opportunity to run from Mexico to Texas in the Rio Grande in the past few days. They gathered under a bridge. The Mayor of Del Rio spoke of more than 14,500 people on Saturday. According to reports, around 10,000 people stayed in makeshift tents in inhumane conditions on Monday at temperatures of over 30 degrees.
Domestic political pressure is growing for the von Biden government in view of the rapidly growing migrant camp. Conservatives accuse the White House of a too lax immigration policy, while at the same time the living conditions of the people under the bridge are criticized. Human rights organizations condemned the actions of the US-Government. But there is also criticism from within our own ranks.
“Eyesore for our country”
“This is an eyesore on our country,” said Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Senate Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer called on Biden to end the policies of his predecessor Donald Trump. The migrants “just want to escape the tyranny and problems in their country” and would “have been received on our doorstep with unimaginable humiliation”. Schumer criticized the expulsions to Haiti: “We cannot continue this hateful (…) Trump policy that disregards our refugee laws.”
The government under Donald Trump put the relevant directive in place at the beginning of the pandemic and used it to seal off the borders to a large extent. With reference to the regulation, migrants have since been expelled without being given the opportunity to apply for asylum. This is justified with the risk of the introduction of Covid-19. Under Biden, the rule was extended with the exception of unaccompanied minors. Human rights organizations accuse the government of using the pandemic as an excuse to deport people without adequate examination and court hearing.
During a visit to Del Rio on Monday, Homeland Security Minister Mayorkas again appealed to Haitians to make the dangerous journey to them US-Not to start the southern border with Mexico. “Our borders are not open,” emphasized Mayorkas. The minister stated that everyone should be sent back to their countries of origin.
According to media reports, Mexico has also started to fly Haitians out of the border region – albeit to the south of Mexico. At first it was unclear how things should go on with them there. The migrants did not come directly from Haiti, but from Brazil and Chile, said Mexico’s Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard after a conversation with his US-Colleagues Antony Blinken. They were granted asylum in the South American countries.
The migrants would now have the long journey to US-Border made because they were told the US would take them in, Ebrard said. The background to this is that in the USA, among other things, the TPS program for Haitians, which grants them temporary residence permits, has been extended. However, it only applies to migrants who have already been to the USA. The Haitians were deceived, said Ebrard.
