US launches mass expulsion of Haitian migrants from Texas

The US flew Haitians camped in a Texas border town back to their homeland on Sunday and tried blocking others from crossing the border from Mexico in a massive show of force that signalled the beginning of what could be one of America's swiftest, large-scale expulsions of migrants or refugees in decades.

More than 320 migrants arrived in Port-au-Prince on three flights, and Haiti said six flights were expected on Tuesday. In all, US authorities moved to expel many of the more 12,000 migrants camped around a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, after crossing from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.

Migrants wade back and forth across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. Photo / AP

The only obvious parallel for such an expulsion without an opportunity to seek asylum was in 1992 when the Coast Guard intercepted Haitian refugees at sea, said Yael Schacher, senior US advocate at Refugees International whose doctoral studies focused on the history of US asylum law.

Similarly large numbers of Mexicans have been sent home during peak years of immigration but over land and not so suddenly.

Central Americans have also crossed the border in comparable numbers without being subject to mass expulsion, although Mexico has agreed to accept them from the US under pandemic-related authority in effect since March 2020. Mexico does not accept expelled Haitians or people of other nationalities outside of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

When the border was closed on Sunday, the migrants initially found other ways to cross nearby until they were confronted by federal and state law enforcement. An Associated Press reporter saw Haitian immigrants still crossing the river into the US about 2.5km east of the previous spot, but they were eventually stopped by Border Patrol agents on horseback and Texas law enforcement officials.

Migrants wade across the Rio Grande from Del Rio, Texas. Photo / AP

As they crossed, some Haitians carried boxes on their heads filled with food. Some removed their pants before getting into the river and carried them. Others were unconcerned about getting wet.

Agents yelled at the migrants who were crossing in the waist-deep river to get out of the water. The several hundred who had successfully crossed and were sitting along the river bank on the US side were ordered to the Del Rio camp. "Go now," agents yelled. Mexican authorities in an airboat told others trying to cross to go back into Mexico.

Migrant Charlie Jean had crossed back into Ciudad Acuña from the camps to get food for his wife and three daughters, ages 2, 5 and 12. He was waiting on the Mexican side for a restaurant to bring him an order of rice.

"We need food for every day. I can go without, but my kids can't," said Jean, who had been living in Chile for five years before beginning the trek north to the US. It was unknown if he made it back across and to the camp.

Mexico said on Sunday it would also begin deporting Haitians to their homeland. A government official said the flights would be from towns near the US border and the border with Guatemala, where the largest group remains.

Migrants who waded across the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, make it ashore into Del Rio, Texas. Photo / AP

Haitians have been migrating to the US in large numbers from South America for several years, many having left their Caribbean nation after a devastating 2010 earthquake. After jobs dried up from the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, many made the dangerous trek by foot, bus and car to the US border, including through the infamous Darien Gap, a Panamanian jungle.

Some of the migrants at the Del Rio camp said the recent devastating earthquake in Haiti and the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse make them afraid to return to a country that seems more unstable than when they left.

"In Haiti, there is no security," said Fabricio Jean, a 38-year-old Haitian who arrived in Texas with his wife and two daughters. "The country is in a political crisis."

Since Friday, 3300 migrants have already been removed from the Del Rio camp to planes or detention centres, Border Patrol Chief Raul L Ortiz said on Sunday. He expected to have 3000 of the approximately 12,600 remaining migrants moved within a day, and aimed for the rest to be gone within the week.

Migrants, mostly from Haiti, wait for a bus after they were processed and released after spending time at a makeshift camp near the International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas. Photo / AP

"We are working around the clock to expeditiously move migrants out of the heat, elements and from underneath this bridge to our processing facilities in order to quickly process and remove individuals from the United States consistent with our laws and our policies," Ortiz said at news conference at the Del Rio bridge. The Texas city of about 35,000 people sits roughly 230km west of San Antonio.

Haitians who were deported from the United States arrive at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport, in Port au Prince, Haiti. Photo / AP

The US expected to double daily flights soon to at least six, according to a US official who was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly. Departure cities were still being determined on Sunday.

US Customs and Border Protection mounted officers attempt to contain migrants as they cross the Rio Grande. Photo / AP

Six flights were scheduled in Haiti on Tuesday - three in Port-au-Prince and three in the northern city of Cap-Haitien, said Jean Négot Bonheur Delva, Haiti's migration director.

The rapid expulsions were made possible by a pandemic-related authority adopted by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 that allows for migrants to be immediately removed from the country without an opportunity to seek asylum. President Joe Biden exempted unaccompanied children from the order but let the rest stand.

Any Haitians not expelled are subject to immigration laws, which include rights to seek asylum and other forms of humanitarian protection. Families are quickly released in the US because the government cannot generally hold children.

Some people arriving on the first flight covered their heads as they walked into a large bus parked next to the plane. Dozens lined up to receive a plate of rice, beans, chicken and plantains as they wondered where they would sleep and how they would make money to support their families.

All were given US$100 and tested for Covid-19, though authorities were not planning to put them into quarantine, said Marie-Lourde Jean-Charles with the Office of National Migration.

Gary Monplaisir, 26, said his parents and sister live in Port-au-Prince, but he wasn't sure if he would stay with them because to reach their house he, his wife and their 5-year-old daughter would cross a gang-controlled area called Martissant where killings are routine.

"I'm scared," he said. "I don't have a plan."

He moved to Chile in 2017, just as he was about to earn an accounting degree, to work as a tow truck driver. He later paid for his wife and daughter to join him. They tried to reach the US because he thought he could get a better-paying job and help his family in Haiti.

"We're always looking for better opportunities," he said.

Some migrants said they were planning to leave Haiti again as soon as possible. Valeria Ternission, 29, said she and her husband want to travel with their 4-year-old son back to Chile, where she worked as a bakery's cashier.

"I am truly worried, especially for the child," she said. "I can't do anything here."