The Texas border crossing in Del Rio, Texas, where many Haitian migrants were camped in hopes of getting into the United States, partially reopened over the weekend. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), together with federal and local officials, made the decision after there no migrants were left at the makeshift encampment since Friday last week.
Purpose Of Reopening
The main purpose of reopening the border is to allow access again for trade and travel operations through the Del Rio Port of Entry. By Monday, it will also be reopened for cargo traffic. The border crossing in Del Rio, Texas, has been closed since Sept. 17 because of the influx of illegal migrants in the area. To ensure that no illegal migrants were hiding near the site, CBP agents searched the Rio Grande, Coast Reporter said.
Deportation Continues
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will still have flights to deport the Haitian migrants. The flights continue despite criticism from Democratic lawmakers and human rights groups.
The deportations continue after a couple of border agents were seen whipping and blocking Haitian migrants from going to the makeshift encampment at the border. President Joe Biden said that the agents would “soon pay for what they did to the migrants” as an investigation already began. “There will be consequences. It’s an embarrassment, but it’s beyond an embarrassment — it’s dangerous, it’s wrong, it sends the wrong message around the world and sends the wrong message at home. It’s simply not who we are,” Biden had said recently.
Around 15,000 migrants had flocked to the border, and some of them have been deported back to their respective countries. Few, however, were allowed to remain in the U.S. as they tried to seek asylum. The DHS hast custody of over 5,000 migrants, and they are still being processed to determine if they will be deported or allowed to claim for legal residency.
Mexico Is Also Helping
Many migrants went back to Mexico after failing to enter the U.S. The Mexico office of the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration released a statement on Friday, saying that they are now looking into countries where Haitians have residency or where their children have citizenship. This is so they can find an alternative area to be taken to instead of being deported to Haiti.
The organization added, “Should migrants be willing to return and should concerned states be in agreement, IOM is ready to offer its expertise through its Assisted Voluntary Return (AVR) Program to help these migrants return in a safe and informed manner.”
