Near the bridge and river crossing where Haitians had been crossing from Ciudad Acuna (Mexico) to Del Rio (Texas), for nearly three weeks, there were about a dozen Texas Department of Public Safety cars. To stop them from crossing a small dam into the U.S., yellow police tape was used.
Initially, the migrants found other routes to cross the border until they were confronted with federal and state law enforcement.
Mexican border police officers said that migrants would not be allowed to cross the border. His name was not revealed. An Associated Press reporter saw Haitian migrants still crossing the river to the U.S. 1.5 miles (2.4 km) east of the earlier spot. Later, Border Patrol agents on horseback stopped them and Texas law enforcement officers.
Some Haitians carried food boxes on their heads as they crossed the river. Before they crossed the river, some took off their pants and carried them. Some were worried about getting wet.
Agents shouted, “Get out of water!” at migrants crossing the river in waist-deep. The hundreds of migrants who had crossed successfully and were sitting on the U.S. bank were directed to the Del Rio camp. Agents yelled, “Go now!”
Charlie Jean, a migrant from France, had returned to Ciudad Acuna after crossing the border from the camps in order to buy food for his wife and their three daughters (ages 2, 5, and 12). He was waiting for someone to bring him rice from Mexico.
“We need food for every single day. Jean, who has been in Chile for five year before making the trek north to America, said that he can live without food, but his children can’t. It wasn’t known if he made it to the camp.
Since 2010, many Haitians have been moving to the U.S. from South America in large numbers. Many of them fled their Caribbean homeland after the devastating 2010 earthquake. Many made the risky trek to the U.S. border by foot, bus, and car after the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Raul L. Ortiz, Chief Border Patrol Officer, stated Sunday that 3,300 migrants had been taken from Del Rio camp to planes and detention centers. He expects to move 3,000 of the remaining 12,600 migrants within one day. He said that the rest of them should be gone in a week. The three first planes arrived in Port-au-Prince around noon on Sunday.
Ortiz stated that he was working round the clock to move migrants from under the bridge to the processing facilities. This is in accordance with the United States laws and policies.
The deportations and blockade were swift responses to the sudden arrival in Texas of Haitians in Del Rio (a Texas city of approximately 35,000 people) located 145 miles (230 km) west of San Antonio. It is located on a remote border with limited capacity that can hold large numbers of people.
Port-au-Prince Airport: Families carrying their children on the first flight held them by the hands or carried them out as they left. Some deportees covered up as they entered a bus that was parked right next to the plane.
A dozen representatives from different Haitian government agencies met with deported Haitians. The Ministry of Justice requested that the national police of Haiti be present to prevent violence.
The airport also had a minibus from International Organization of Migration. The brightly colored bags contained toiletries, hand sanitizer, and hair ties.
Marie-Lourde JeanCharles, the Office of National Migration, stated that all deportees were tested for COVID-19 and authorities have no plans to place them in quarantine.
Ariel Henry, Haitian Prime Minister, tweeted Sunday that he was concerned about the conditions at the border camp. He also said that migrants would be welcome back.
He tweeted, “We want them to be reassured that we have taken measures to provide them with a better welcome upon their return and that they won’t be forgotten.” Henry didn’t provide any details on the measures. Unable to reach a spokesperson for the Haitian government, Henry did not provide any details.
Another Haitian politician, however, questioned the country’s ability to handle the influx of migrants returning home and called for an end to repatriation.
“We have the earthquake in the south. “The economy is in crisis, and (and) there are not jobs,” Mathias Pierre, Election Minister, stated, adding that most Haitians cannot meet their basic needs. “The prime minister should meet with the U.S. government in order to stop these deportations during this time of crisis.”
Some migrants in the Del Rio camp claimed that the recent destructive earthquakein Haiti and assassination attempt on President Jovenel Mose have made them nervous about returning to a country that is more unstable than they were when they left.
Fabricio Jean, 38, a Haitian immigrant to Texas with his wife, and two daughters, said, “In Haiti there is no security.” “The country is in an economic crisis.”
