(KRON) - Thousands of migrants, most of them from Haiti, are waiting for their chance to seek asylum in the U.S. and escape from poverty, violence and instability in their home countries.
Those migrants are now being forced out in a massive explosion effort from the U.S. government, which says our border is not open, but many immigration advocates feel differently.
The U.S. border in Del Rio, Texas has seen the number of migrants grow to nearly 15,000 over the last week
Many of those people are coming from Haiti which has suffered political turmoil and a devastating earthquake which killed thousands.
Local organizations say these asylum seekers should be treated as refugees but are instead being forced into miserable conditions.
Haitian migrants seeking an escape from their country ravaged by natural disasters and a presidential assassination are being kept from crossing the border.
U.S. officials have been under fire for their response to the crisis.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Myorkas called the situation in Del Rio, Texas challenging and heartbreaking while also saying the United States does not have open borders.
The Biden Administration has started deportation flights, sending people back to Haiti.
While images of Border Patrol guards on horseback have shown questionable treatment of those who have arrived at the border.
Officials say most of these migrants do not qualify for refugee status following this year's earthquake, hurricane and presidential assassination in their home country because most of them have spent the past decade living in South America after a 7.0 earthquake devastated the country in 2010.
Charlie Hinton and Ustadi Kadiri are with the Oakland-based Haiti Action Committee. The organization, among other things, advocates for grassroots political movements and empowering the Haitian people.
The committee is denouncing the deportations of Haitian migrants as criminal, inhumane and racist.
They're hoping the Biden Administration will change course to allow those migrants protected status.
The committee says without help from the U.S. government, the deported Haitians are being put in danger.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put out a statement Monday condemning the alleged mistreatment of Haitian migrants at the border saying: "All migrants must be treated in accordance with the law and with basic decency. Any acts of aggression or violence cannot be tolerated and must be investigated. Congress will continue to closely monitor developments."
President Biden has not individually addressed the situation at the border but White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki was pressured by reporters today about the situation.
So far, the administration has not changed its stance on granting temporary protected status for those migrants.
from KRON4 https://ift.tt/2XBqGid
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