Lawmakers React to Treatment of Haitian Migrants Amid Border Crisis

Politics

By Alyssa Wilson Published: September 22, 2021

Lawmakers React to Treatment of Haitian Migrants Amid Border Crisis

Migrants, many from Haiti, wade across the Rio Grande river from Del Rio, Texas, to return to Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, Monday, Sept. 20, 2021, to avoid deportation from the U.S. The U.S. is flying Haitians camped in a Texas border town back to their homeland and blocking others from crossing the border from Mexico. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)

In Summary

Many lawmakers are calling on the Biden administration to handle the crisis at the Southern border and the treatment of Haitian migrants in Texas.

The Biden administration is feeling the heat over the crisis at the southern border, where thousands of Haitian migrants are seeking refuge in the United States.

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Thousands have traveled to Mexico to cross into the United States as they seek shelter. Haiti has been riddled with numerous problems, including a devastating earthquake that followed the assassination of the country’s president this past July.

Democrats had high hopes for a more humane immigration policy under President Joe Biden after former President Donald Trump’s hardline stance on the issue. While Biden’s administration has called the scene of border agents intimidating migrants with reins and horses “horrific,” the president made no mention of it or immigration at the UN General Assembly Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the White House is seeking more information on what happened and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke out. “What I saw depicted about those individuals on horseback, treating human beings the way they were is horrible,” she said. “And I fully support what is happening right now, which is a thorough investigation into exactly what is going on there. Human beings should never be treated that way and I’m deeply troubled by it.”

The Biden administration said it would quickly begin deporting Haitians who have gathered at the southern border, but many are calling on them to reverse course.

We have a moral obligation to lead with compassion.

I’m calling on the Biden Administration to immediately halt the deportations of our Haitian neighbors and work with us to support the Haitian diaspora.

There were babies under the age of 3 on that flight. https://t.co/JGlRJ0h9H6
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) September 17, 2021

The Congressional Black Caucus released the following statement through Chairwoman Joyce Beatty:

“The images that we’ve seen over the last 24 hours are horrific and I share the outrage being expressed by Americans across the country. This sort of mistreatment is an affront to the very conscience of this nation, and it is absolutely unacceptable.”

These are human rights abuses, plain and simple.

Cruel, inhumane, and a violation of domestic and international law. This needs a course correction and the issuance of a clear directive on how to humanely process asylums seekers at our border. https://t.co/tdDN70Hz1z
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 20, 2021

Congresswoman Ilhan Omar joined BNC’s Black News Tonight with Marc Lamont Hill and said she “couldn’t imagine the possibility of those images being real,” especially in the United States. Omar fled Somalia as a child, so the issue of seeking asylum is deeply personal to her. “I have never seen the images we are seeing at our border or anywhere around the world,” she said. “Especially the kind of conditions these immigrants are being subjected to.”