US to sent back thousands of Haitian migrants

The Biden administration is planning to return a large number of Haitian migrants from a small Texas border town on flights to Haiti starting September 19, an official said on September 17. The US officials said the return of the migrants would be presenting a rapid and dramatic response to thousands fleeing in and around a bridge came together.

The details are yet to be decided but will likely involve five to eight flights a day, according to officials with direct knowledge of the plans, who were not authorized to discuss the issue publicly and with the Associated Press under the conditions of anonymity.

San Antonio, the nearest major city, could be one of the departure cities.

US authorities have closed traffic to vehicles and pedestrians in both directions at the single border crossing in Del Rio, Texas, after the chaos unfolded on September 17 and presented the administration with a new and immediate challenge as it tried to manage large numbers of asylum seekers who have reached the US soil.

US Customs and Border Protection stated it would close the border crossing with Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, "to respond to urgent security and safety needs." Travellers were directed to Eagle Pass, Texas, 57 miles (91 kilometres) away.

The Haitians cross the Rio Grande freely, and in a steady stream, they go back and forth between the United States and Mexico through knee-deep water, with some mothers taking small children on their shoulders. However, because of lack of money and failure to buy supplies in the US, they come back to Mexico for food and other supplies. The migrants then settle temporarily near the bridge in Del Rio.

Migrants set up tents and built makeshift shelters out of huge reeds, known as carrizo poles—lots of bitten and washed clothes in the river.

[caption id="attachment_37686" align="aligncenter" width="665"] Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. walk in the Rio Grande river near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S., as they wait to be processed, in Del Rio, Texas, U.S., September 16, 2021. According to officials, some migrants cross back and forth into Mexico to buy food and supplies. REUTERS/Go Nakamura[/caption]

The vast majority of the migrants on the bridge on September 17 were Haitians, said Val Verde County Judge Lewis Owens, who is the nation's top elected official and includes Del Rio's jurisdiction. Some families were under the bridge for as long as six days.

Dust piles were 10 feet (3.1 meters) wide, and at least two women gave birth, including one who tested positive for COVID-19 after being taken to the hospital, Owens stated.

The county Sheriff Frank Joe Martinez of Val Verde Joe Martinez estimated the population at 13,700 and said more Haitians travel through Mexico by bus.

About 500 Haitians were ordered off the buses by Mexican immigration authorities in the state of Tamaulipas, about 200 miles (200 kilometres) south of the Texas border, the state government said in a news release on September 17. They continue on foot towards the border.