The Biden administration will expel some of the thousands of Haitian migrants who have been crossing the U.S. border illegally in Del Rio, Texas, placing them on planes heading back to Haiti, the Department of Homeland Security announced Saturday.
The DHS is “implementing a new, comprehensive strategy” to address the 12,000 people who have crossed the border this past week, roughly half of whom are believed to be Haitians, the department said. The six-pronged approach includes surging 400 Customs and Border Protection agents and officers to Del Rio, coordinating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard to relocate migrants to other processing centers, increasing the capacity of removal flights, working with nearby countries to repatriate their citizens and lawful residents, increasing humanitarian aid to prevent crowding, and coordinating with officials to ensure returnees receive support.
“The Biden Administration has reiterated that our borders are not open, and people should not make the dangerous journey. Individuals and families are subject to border restrictions, including expulsion,” DHS said in its Saturday announcement. “Irregular migration poses a significant threat to the health and welfare of border communities and to the lives of migrants themselves, and should not be attempted.”
US CLOSES DEL RIO BORDER CROSSING AS THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS ILLEGALLY CROSS
One official said the migrants would be sent home on five to eight flights per day, contradicting a different administration official who told the Associated Press there are not expected to be more than two flights per day. Details of the flights are being sorted, but San Antonio may be among the departure cities, the report added.
The thousands of migrants who have successfully made their way into the country have been gathering under and around a bridge, waiting to surrender to U.S. officials for processing and their likely release into the United States. Scores more migrants were seen attempting to traverse the border Saturday morning, according to video tweeted by Fox’s Bill Melugin.
BREAKING: I am absolutely stunned by what I’m witnessing right now. We are on a boat in the Rio Grande near the Del Rio international bridge and we are watching as masses of hundreds of migrants walk across the river from Mexico and stream into the US illegally. @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/xXE4pDkpIe
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) September 18, 2021
CBP ordered the shutdown of the Del Rio crossing Friday to stem the flow of immigrants crossing the border. Those who are trying to get into the U.S. have been rerouted to Eagle Pass, Texas, approximately 57 miles away. Unaccompanied children will not be immediately returned.
Mexico has agreed to take in immigrants who have been rejected by the U.S. if they are from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador, but not Haitian migrants, who have faced extreme violence in Mexico and many of whom struggle with finding legal representation.
Edgar Rodriguez, the lawyer for the Casa del Migrante migrant shelter in Piedras Negras, Texas, located north of Del Rio, said he believes that misinformation played a big role in people flocking to America because many migrants come on false rumors that immigration policies are about to change in the U.S.
President Joe Biden has attempted to deter migrants from entering the country, telling them, “Don’t come over,” in March as the number of illegal border crossings skyrocketed.
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CBP experienced nearly 209,000 encounters along the southern border in the month of August, and families were stopped 86,487 times that month, according to a report by the agency.
