Democrats castigate Biden administration for treatment of Haitian immigrants at border

The nine lawmakers, including CBC President Joyce Beatty of Ohio, and Reps Shelia Jackson Lee of Texas and Barbara Lee of California. Gregory Meeks of New York, Troy Carter of Louisiana, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Yvette Clarke of New York, Ritchie Torres of New York and Steven Horsford of Nevada, said in a statement hours after the meeting that they wanted help. humanitarian aid for migrants and an investigation into “violence against Haitian migrants, public dissemination of the results of the investigation and the call for the withdrawal of customs officers and border protection identified in photos on horseback brutalizing migrants “.

“This treatment will not be tolerated,” Beatty said in a statement Wednesday evening. “The Congressional Black Caucus is committed to supporting black people across the Diaspora and we pledge our support to the people of Haiti.

She added, “As a result of today’s dialogue, we look forward to increased support from the United States, including development assistance and logistical resources to assist in the recovery from the earthquake and pandemic in Haiti.

In a press conference on Wednesday, Democratic Representative Maxine Waters of California, who did not attend the White House meeting, asked for answers from the administration.

“I’m pissed off. I’m unhappy. And I’m not just unhappy with the cowboys who overthrown Haitians and used their reins to whip them. I’m unhappy with the administration. We are following Trump’s policy,” a- he added. she said. “What we have seen is worse than what we have seen during slavery: cowboys with their reins whipping blacks, Haitians, in the water.”

Meanwhile, Meeks, who is chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and House Homeland Security Chairman Bennie Thompson sent a letter to the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security to the regarding concerns regarding the treatment of undocumented migrants in Del Rio.

“Thousands of Haitians and other migrants arrived in Del Rio, Texas last week and are now seeking refuge in squalid conditions under a bridge,” they wrote in the letter. “Despite the rapid deployment of personnel and resources by the administration in response to this crisis, much of the strategy to care for these vulnerable people is of deep concern.”

“More specifically, we urge the administration to suspend repatriations to Haiti until the country recovers from these devastating crises,” they wrote. “We are troubled by the plan to repatriate thousands of people to Haiti, despite the instability, violence and devastation that continue to plague the country.

Biden has not publicly addressed the situation

The Biden administration is receiving bipartisan criticism of the US-Mexico border crisis amid stunning images that appear to show US law enforcement officers on horseback using aggressive tactics with migrants, which are largely Haitians. The White House’s response, so far, has largely focused behind the scenes as critics compare Biden’s policy of deporting migrants to the aggressive measures taken by the Trump administration.

President Joe Biden has not addressed the situation publicly since Tuesday, when he briefly responded to a shouted question on the subject as he left the United Nations General Assembly.

“We’re going to get it under control,” Biden said, declining to elaborate further.

“But human beings should never be treated this way and I am deeply disturbed about it and will also discuss it later today with the secretary (of the Ministry of Homeland Security) (Alejandro) Mayorkas”, a- she added.

“The bottom line is that we have to understand Haiti,” said Harris. “I mean, talking about a country that has just experienced so many tragedies that have been marked by natural disasters, the assassinated head of state, and we really need to do a lot more to recognize that as a member of the Western Hemisphere, we ‘I have to meet some very basic needs that the Haitian people must meet’, and not leave her country of origin, the same position she has adopted vis-à-vis the migration of ‘Central America.

Reading that appeal with Mayorkas published a day later suggested tensions between Harris and the Department of Homeland Security, saying she had raised “serious concerns” about the treatment of Haitian migrants during their appeal, although ‘it is read that Mayorkas shared the same concern.

Carter, one of the lawmakers who met with administration officials on Wednesday, told CNN that the meeting between the White House and members of the Congressional Black Caucus was a “substantive conversation,” which the group expressed his indignation at the images of the treatment of Haitians by the border patrol in Del Rio and the deportations.

Carter said officials were responsive, shared their outrage and pledged not to sweep it “under the rug” and / or let it become the news of yesterday.

“We all left this meeting feeling that we were heard and that there will be ramifications for the actions we have seen,” he said.

Carter added that there had been no discussion of the role of the vice president.

“White House officials have underscored the President’s commitment to implementing a safe, humane and orderly immigration process. Officials also underscored the administration’s commitment to providing aid to the Haitian people as the largest humanitarian donor in Haiti, ”a report from the White House meeting said. .

Biden has no public events on his schedule Thursday, and Harris is meeting separately with the leaders of Ghana and India, where reporters may have an opportunity to ask him questions about developments.

This story was updated with additional developments on Thursday.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated when members of the Congressional Black Caucus met with White House officials. They met on Wednesday.