US border guard uses whip against Haitian migrants in Texas

In recent days, migrants, mostly Haitians, have commuted from Ciudad Acuna in Mexico to the sprawling camp across the border at Del Rio to purchase food and water, which was in short supply. American side.

Reuters witnesses saw officers on horseback wearing cowboy hats block migrants’ paths, and an officer unroll a lariat-like rope, which he swung near the face of a migrant.

A video showing a border guard apparently threatening migrants with ropes was shared on social media.

– Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) September 20, 2021

“I don’t think anyone seeing these images would think it was acceptable or appropriate,” White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters.

“I don’t have the full context. I can’t imagine what context would make this appropriate,” she added.

A Haitian covers his face with a flag in front of the cameras after getting off a Chilean Air Force plane upon arrival at Port-au-Prince International Airport, Haiti, November 7, 2018. (Credit: REUTERS / ANDRES MARTINEZ CASARES)

U.S. Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said the incident was being investigated to ensure there was no “unacceptable” response from US forces. order. He said officers were operating in a harsh environment, trying to keep migrants safe while looking for potential smugglers.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the long reins are used by officials on horseback to “ensure control of the horse”.

“But we will investigate the facts,” he said at a press conference in Del Rio.

The camp under a bridge spanning the Rio Grande has become the latest flashpoint for US authorities seeking to stem a flow of migrants fleeing gang violence, extreme poverty and natural disasters in their home countries.

The camp was temporarily housing more than 12,000 migrants, although Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the number reached 16,000 on Saturday. Many had traveled from as far as Chile, hoping to seek asylum in the United States.

As temperatures rose to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius) on Monday, migrants complained about persistent food and water shortages in the camp. Some of those returning to the United States could be seen balancing large ice packs on their heads as they waded through the water.

During the day, hundreds of migrants had returned to the Mexican side, including families with young children, hoisting backpacks, suitcases and personal effects in plastic bags over their heads.

“This treatment they are giving is racism, because of the color of our skin,” said Maxon Prudhomme, a Haitian migrant on the banks of the Rio Grande in Mexico.

As the sun set, about 200 migrants from the Mexican side bivouacked in a field by the river, flattening boxes and rolling out blankets to sleep under a cluster of trees.

Some migrants said they returned to Mexico in search of food and water, while others crossed for fear of being deported to Haiti on flights organized by US authorities.

The first flights carrying migrants landed in Port-au-Prince on Sunday from Del Rio camp arrived in Haiti on Sunday, with at least three more due to make the trip on Monday, according to flight tracking site Flightaware.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during a phone call, spoke to Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry about the repatriation of Haitian migrants at the southern border of the United States, the State Department said in a statement. .

The two men “discussed the dangers of irregular migration, which puts individuals at great risk and often forces migrants and their families to incur crushing debts,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

Blinken said on Twitter that he also spoke to Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard “about our efforts to promote safe, orderly and humane migration.” In recent years, Washington has pressured Mexico to block the flow of migrants to the US border.

U.S. officials closed the Del Rio border post last Friday due to the migrant crush, and said on Monday it remained closed, with most traffic being redirected to the Eagle Pass, Texas border post. about 90 km to the south.

The prospect of evictions weighed heavily on the camp residents, some of whom crossed continents for months to reach the border.

“They can’t send us back to Haiti because everyone knows what Haiti looks like right now,” Haitian migrant Wildly Jeanmary said on Sunday, wearing only underpants and standing on the Mexican side of the river after the to have crossed.

Drenched, he cited the July presidential assassination as a reason not to return with his wife and their 2-year-old daughter to the poorest country in the Americas. Haiti was also hit by a major earthquake last month.

“The United States government has no conscience,” said Nerlin Clerge, another Haitian migrant who stood by the riverbank and had traveled to the camp with his wife and their two young sons. He said he was now considering applying for the right to stay in Mexico.

Mayorkas said he expects between one and three daily repatriation flights to Haiti, adding that an increase of 600 border officials and other personnel have been deployed to the region.

“If you come to the United States illegally, you will be sent back. Your trip will not be successful,” he told a press conference.

While President Joe Biden rolled back many of his predecessor Donald Trump’s intransigent immigration policies earlier this year, he left a sweeping deportation policy in place during the pandemic under which most migrants caught crossing the US-Mexico border are quickly turned back.