Articles

Thousands Of Haitians Gather Under Border Bridge, Hoping To Gain Entrance To US, As Deportations Continue

CBS Miami / Joel Waldman / September 17, 2021

More than 10,000 mostly Haitian migrants are sheltering under an international bridge in Mexico, waiting to be processed by immigration authorities in the United States.

The problem is that there are too many people and there is not enough manpower and the immigration facilities are already at full capacity.

There are young mothers giving birth to little babies and those horrendous conditions.

A lot of people are wondering why there are so many Haitian migrants along the southern US border and the very short answer to that is after the 2010 quake, a lot of them a lot of the Haitians moved to either Central or South America looking for work.

Couple that with a recent earthquake and the presidential assassination and gang violence and it is only made matters worse.

Nearly 2,000 miles from their homeland, more than 10,000 mostly Haitian refugees are now calling this home.

A squad camp made up of tents and porta-potties under the Del Rio International Bridge connecting Mexico to South Texas.

The bridge is one of the only ways to escape the searing sun, with temperatures expected to rise into the hundreds over the coming days.

The number of migrants gathered here is grown by almost 4,000. With the majority of them coming up from Central and South America.

The migrants reportedly using WhatsApp to share routes.

Marleine Bastien, the executive director of the Miami-based family Action Network Movement tells CBS4 three things need to happen right away: Put an immediate stop to the deportations of the Haitian refugees, here and also from the border.

"We want the Biden administration to put a moratorium on all deportations to Haiti right now at least for 12 to 18 months, and we are asking them to immediately change their foreign policy vis-a-vis Haiti."

The Biden administration rolled back many of former President Trump's immigration actions early on, but left in place as a sweeping pandemic era deportation policy called title 42, under which most migrants caught crossing the US-Mexico border are quickly turned back.

It's a harsh reality for this growing group hoping to call America home.

Florida is home to more Haitian immigrants than any other state, surpassing New York, with more than half the 1.2 million live in South Florida.

On Friday afternoon, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson issued the following statement in response to reports of Haitian migrants seeking asylum:

"It was deeply dismaying to learn that tens of thousands of Haitians are huddling under a Texas bridge and that more are expected. It takes a particular level of desperation to escape the conditions at home to make such a perilous journey, especially with children in tow. Sadly, Haitians and asylum seekers from other nations have chosen to do so in the hope of entering the United States, only to find themselves in this very dire predicament. I am extremely concerned about their welfare and what is fast becoming a growing international humanitarian crisis.

"My constituents also are very concerned and hope that the Biden administration will act swiftly to help migrants from the Caribbean and Latin and Central America who have risked everything—including their lives—to reach our border. My office has reached out to the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to request more information and I will continue to monitor the situation as closely as possible. In addition, members of the Haitian diaspora in Miami and New York are planning an on-site visit to Mexico this weekend to speak with the Haitian migrants. I have asked them to provide me with a detailed report of their findings."