Officials: All migrants are gone from Texas border camp

By MARÍA VERZA and JUAN LOZANO

DEL RIO, Texas (AP) — No migrants remained Friday astatine the Texas borderline encampment wherever astir 15,000 radical — astir of them Haitians — had converged conscionable days earlier seeking asylum, section and national officials said.

It’s a melodramatic alteration from past Saturday, erstwhile the fig peaked arsenic migrants driven by disorder implicit the Biden administration’s policies and misinformation connected societal media converged astatine the borderline crossing connecting Del Rio, Texas, and Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.

At a quality conference, Del Rio Mayor Buno Lozano called it “phenomenal news.”

Many look expulsion due to the fact that they are not covered by protections precocious extended by the Biden medication to the much than 100,000 Haitian migrants already successful the U.S., citing information concerns and societal unrest successful the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. The devastating 2020 earthquake forced galore of them from their homeland.

The United States and Mexico appeared anxious to extremity the progressively politicized humanitarian concern that prompted the resignation of the U.S. peculiar envoy to Haiti and wide outrage aft images emerged of borderline agents maneuvering their horses to forcibly artifact and determination migrants.

On Friday, President Joe Biden said the mode the agents utilized their horses was “horrible” and that “people volition pay” arsenic a result. The agents person been assigned to administrative duties portion the medication investigates.

“There volition beryllium consequences,” Biden told reporters. “It’s an embarrassment, but it’s beyond an embarrassment — it’s dangerous, it’s wrong, it sends the incorrect connection astir the satellite and sends the incorrect connection astatine home. It’s simply not who we are.”

Later, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas spoke cautiously astir the pending probe into the usage of horses. Asked astir the discrepancy, White House property caput Jen Psaki said Biden “was not prejudging an outcome. He was speaking from the heart.” She said helium is not interfering with immoderate investigation.

Mayorkas said astir 2,000 Haitians person been rapidly expelled connected 17 flights since Sunday and much could beryllium expelled successful coming days nether pandemic powers that contradict radical the accidental to question asylum.

He said the U.S. has allowed astir 12,400 to participate the country, astatine slightest temporarily, portion they marque claims earlier an migration justice to enactment successful the state nether the asylum laws oregon for immoderate different ineligible reason. They could yet beryllium denied and would beryllium taxable to removal.

Mayorkas said astir 5,000 are successful DHS custody and being processed to find whether they volition beryllium expelled oregon allowed to property their assertion for ineligible residency. Some returned to Mexico.

A U.S. authoritative with nonstop cognition of the concern said six flights were scheduled to Haiti connected Friday, with 7 planned Saturday and six Sunday, though that was taxable to change. The authoritative was not authorized to talk publicly.

In Mexico, conscionable implicit 100 migrants, astir of them azygous men, remained Friday greeting successful the riverside campy successful Ciudad Acuña.

Dozens of families who had been determination crossed backmost to Del Rio overnight aft Mexican authorities near the area. With the stream moving higher, immoderate Border Patrol agents helped families who were struggling to transverse with children.

Some migrants besides moved to tiny hotels oregon backstage homes successful Ciudad Acuña. Authorities detained six migrants astatine 1 connected Thursday afternoon.

Luxon, a 31-year-old Haitian migrant who withheld his past sanction retired of fear, said helium was leaving with his woman and lad for Mexicali, astir 900 miles westbound on Mexico’s borderline with California.

“The enactment was to spell to a spot wherever determination aren’t a batch of radical and determination petition documents to beryllium ineligible successful Mexico,” helium said.

Asked astir the concern successful Ciudad Acuña connected Friday, Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said, “we don’t privation Mexico to beryllium a migrant camp, we privation the occupation to beryllium addressed fully.”

At the Val Verde Border Humanitarian Coalition successful Del Rio, migrants stepped disconnected a achromatic Border Patrol van connected Friday, galore smiling and looking relieved to person been released into the U.S. Some carried sleeping babies. A toddler walked down her parent wrapped successful a metallic vigor blanket.

A antheral who’d driven astir 1,500 miles from Toledo, Ohio, hoping to prime up a person and her household wore a neon yellowish vest and softly scanned the enactment of Haitian migrants. Dave, who didn’t privation to stock his past name, didn’t spot them successful this group.

“I consciousness similar my person is worthy my clip to travel down and help,” helium said, explaining that helium wore the vest truthful his person — a caregiver whom he’d met connected a humanitarian travel to Haiti implicit a decennary agone — would beryllium capable to spot him successful the assemblage erstwhile she arrived with her hubby and 3-year-old daughter.

“I conscionable spot it arsenic an accidental to service somebody,” said Dave, who considers himself a Trump protagonist but hates however politicized the migration contented has become. “We person truthful much.”

Lozano, the Del Rio mayor, said the planetary span won’t reopen until Sunday nighttime astatine the earliest, portion officials guarantee cipher is hiding successful the brushwood on the Rio Grande and to decorativeness cleanup. Officials besides privation to beryllium definite nary different ample groups of migrants are making their mode to the Del Rio country who mightiness determine to acceptable up a akin camp, helium said.

Lozano said determination were nary deaths during the clip the campy was occupied and that 10 babies were calved to migrant mothers, either astatine the campy oregon successful Del Rio’s hospital.

“It took an municipality colony astatine this standard to assistance forestall immoderate nonaccomplishment of beingness and really invited the births of children here,” Lozano said.

The authorities has nary plans to halt expelling immoderate migrants connected nationalist wellness grounds contempt unit from Democratic lawmakers, who accidental Haitian migrants are being sent backmost to a troubled state that immoderate near much than a decennary ago.

The Trump medication enacted the policy, called Title 42, successful March 2020 to warrant restrictive migration policies successful an effort to forestall the dispersed of the coronavirus. The Biden medication has utilized it to warrant the deportation of Haitian migrants.

A national justice precocious past week ruled that the regularisation was improper and gave the authorities 2 weeks to halt it, but the Biden medication appealed.

Officials said the U.S. State Department is successful talks with Brazil and Chile to let immoderate Haitians who antecedently resided determination to return, but it’s analyzable due to the fact that immoderate of them nary longer person ineligible presumption there.

The Biden administration’s peculiar envoy to Haiti, Daniel Foote, submitted a missive of resignation connected Thursday protesting the “inhumane” large-scale expulsions of Haitian migrants.

Foote, who was appointed successful July, wrote to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying helium was stepping down instantly “with heavy disappointment and apologies to those seeking important changes,” and said immoderate of his argumentation recommendations had been ignored.

State Department spokesperson Ned Price disputed Foote’s assertions, saying his proposals had been “fully considered successful a rigorous and transparent argumentation process.”

The humanitarian radical UNICEF besides condemned the expulsions, saying Thursday that archetypal estimates amusement much than 2 retired of 3 migrants expelled to Haiti are women and children, including newborns.

“Haiti is reeling from the triple calamity of earthy disasters, pack unit and the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF’s enforcement director, who said those sent backmost without capable extortion “find themselves adjacent much susceptible to violence, poorness and displacement — factors that drove them to migrate successful the archetypal place.”

And Civil Rights person Rev. Al Sharpton, who toured the campy connected Thursday, vowed to “stand with our radical and marque definite asylum is treated successful 1 mode and 1 manner.”

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Maria Verza reported from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico. AP journalists Sarah Morgan successful Del Rio, Texas; Ben Fox and Nancy Benac successful Washington; Elliot Spagat successful Los Angeles; and Tammy Webber successful Fenton, Michigan, contributed to this story.