A boy bathes himself with a jug of water inside a migrant camp at the U.S.-Mexico border on September 21, 2021, in Del Rio, Texas. | Source: John Moore / Getty
In a stunning reversal, Haitian migrants who have gathered in Texas in an effort to seek asylum were reportedly no longer facing deportations and being allowed to stay in the U.S. after outrage grew from Border Patrol agents on horseback appearing to physically assault the Black people attempting to cross into the country from Mexico.
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The decision by immigration officials came days after the Biden administration began mass removals of the migrants by sending them back to Haiti, where some of them said they were not told was their final destination. The abrupt about-face seemingly resulted from widespread shaming of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Border Patrol, which had approached the humanitarian crisis with a zero-tolerance policy that turned violent.
While exact numbers were not immediately available, the Associated Press reported — citing anonymous government officials — that a “very, very large scale” of Haitian migrants were being “freed,” though it was unclear what that stated freedom actually looks like in terms of where they will go.
“Many have been released with notices to appear at an immigration office within 60 days, an outcome that requires less processing time from Border Patrol agents than ordering an appearance in immigration court and points to the speed at which authorities are moving,” the Associated Press reported.
There was no mention of the opportunity for the migrants to seek U.S. citizenship, although they were reportedly “being processed under immigration laws.”
Source: Haitian Migrants Reportedly Freed On ‘Very Large Scale’ As U.S. Shamed Into Stopping Deportations
