Migrants leave US-Mexican border camps
Issued on: 25/09/2021 -
Issued on: 25/09/2021 -
A United States Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande in Texas
PAUL RATJE AFP/File
Ciudad Acuña (Mexico) (AFP)
Almost all of the mostly Haitian migrants who had gathered on both sides of the US-Mexico border have left their makeshift camps, ending a standoff that had provoked a major border crisis for the Biden administration.
At Ciudad Acuna on the Mexican side, AFP saw migrants packing up their belongings and getting into vans taking them to a shelter, after a deal struck with the Mexican government.
Just hours beforehand the United States had announced that the last of the migrants who were camping illegally under a bridge on the Texas side of the border had either left
"As of this morning, there are no longer any migrants at the camp underneath the Del Rio bridge," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters at the White House.
Around 2,000 were flown to Haiti on 17 expulsion flights, Mayorkas said, while "others have been moved to processing facilities along the border."
"Many of them will be returned to Haiti from there," he said.
The Homeland Security chief said an estimated 8,000 had voluntarily returned across the border to Mexico, some 12,400 individuals will have their cases heard by an immigration judge, and another 5,000 are being processed to determine if they will be removed or not.
In Ciudad Acuna, city council secretary Felipe Basulto said migrants currently at the shelter would not be detained or deported, and that they could move around the city "with complete confidence."
He said they would be able to try and resolve their immigration status while at the shelter, which is being administered by the National Migration Institute "precisely so that they can offer them an alternative of legally staying in the country."
Ciudad Acuña (Mexico) (AFP)
Almost all of the mostly Haitian migrants who had gathered on both sides of the US-Mexico border have left their makeshift camps, ending a standoff that had provoked a major border crisis for the Biden administration.
At Ciudad Acuna on the Mexican side, AFP saw migrants packing up their belongings and getting into vans taking them to a shelter, after a deal struck with the Mexican government.
Just hours beforehand the United States had announced that the last of the migrants who were camping illegally under a bridge on the Texas side of the border had either left
"As of this morning, there are no longer any migrants at the camp underneath the Del Rio bridge," Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters at the White House.
Around 2,000 were flown to Haiti on 17 expulsion flights, Mayorkas said, while "others have been moved to processing facilities along the border."
"Many of them will be returned to Haiti from there," he said.
The Homeland Security chief said an estimated 8,000 had voluntarily returned across the border to Mexico, some 12,400 individuals will have their cases heard by an immigration judge, and another 5,000 are being processed to determine if they will be removed or not.
In Ciudad Acuna, city council secretary Felipe Basulto said migrants currently at the shelter would not be detained or deported, and that they could move around the city "with complete confidence."
He said they would be able to try and resolve their immigration status while at the shelter, which is being administered by the National Migration Institute "precisely so that they can offer them an alternative of legally staying in the country."
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said all migrants had been removed or had left the Del Rio bridge in Texas
MANDEL NGAN AFP
The relocation came hours after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he did not want his country to become "a migrant camp."
"We want the underlying problem to be addressed," he said, urging the United States to invest in economic development in Central America so people do not need to flee poverty.
- 'Outrageous treatment' -
Despite the camps' emptying, some Haitians continued to arrive in the US city of Monterrey on Friday.
"If I find work to live here, to support my family, I have no problem staying," Joseph Yorel told AFP on Friday.
The sudden appearance of thousands of desperate Haitians, who traveled through much of Latin America to reach the United States, has caused a major headache for President Joe Biden's administration.
The issue was brought into sharp relief after uproar over photos of confrontations between border patrol officers on horseback and Haitians on foot.
Showing officers wielding long leather reins and dressed in some cases in clothing reminiscent of Westerns, the photos for many evoked distressing images of vigilante justice or even the US slavery era.
In his first comments on the disturbing images, Biden said it was "outrageous" and promised "consequences."
"It was horrible... to see people treated like they did: horses nearly running them over and people being strapped," Biden said. "It's outrageous. I promise you, those people will pay."
The relocation came hours after Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he did not want his country to become "a migrant camp."
"We want the underlying problem to be addressed," he said, urging the United States to invest in economic development in Central America so people do not need to flee poverty.
- 'Outrageous treatment' -
Despite the camps' emptying, some Haitians continued to arrive in the US city of Monterrey on Friday.
"If I find work to live here, to support my family, I have no problem staying," Joseph Yorel told AFP on Friday.
The sudden appearance of thousands of desperate Haitians, who traveled through much of Latin America to reach the United States, has caused a major headache for President Joe Biden's administration.
The issue was brought into sharp relief after uproar over photos of confrontations between border patrol officers on horseback and Haitians on foot.
Showing officers wielding long leather reins and dressed in some cases in clothing reminiscent of Westerns, the photos for many evoked distressing images of vigilante justice or even the US slavery era.
In his first comments on the disturbing images, Biden said it was "outrageous" and promised "consequences."
"It was horrible... to see people treated like they did: horses nearly running them over and people being strapped," Biden said. "It's outrageous. I promise you, those people will pay."
President Joe Biden said confrontations between border patrol agents on horseback and Haitian migrants were 'outrageous'
Anna Moneymaker GETTY IMAGES/AFP
He added: "An investigation is underway now, and there will be consequences."
- Biden in a bind -
Biden took office in January vowing to reverse what he called his Republican predecessor Donald Trump's inhumane policies at the southern border.
Trump, who regularly warned that US borders were being overwhelmed and claimed falsely that immigrants were bringing large-scale crime and disease, focused much of his presidency on promises to control the frontiers.
Biden finds himself in a bind eight months into his presidency, with huge numbers of would-be migrants being apprehended after crossing illegally from Mexico, including 200,000 people in August.
The government had allowed some of the more vulnerable migrants to register and enter the United States.
However, many of the Haitian migrants were ordered to be flown immediately back to Haiti, the country they'd fled in some cases years earlier.
The US special envoy to Haiti resigned in protest Thursday, citing the "inhumane, counterproductive decision."
At the same time, Biden is hammered daily by Republicans and the Fox News network which portrays the southern border as out of control and the White House as surrendering American security.
© 2021 AFP
He added: "An investigation is underway now, and there will be consequences."
- Biden in a bind -
Biden took office in January vowing to reverse what he called his Republican predecessor Donald Trump's inhumane policies at the southern border.
Trump, who regularly warned that US borders were being overwhelmed and claimed falsely that immigrants were bringing large-scale crime and disease, focused much of his presidency on promises to control the frontiers.
Biden finds himself in a bind eight months into his presidency, with huge numbers of would-be migrants being apprehended after crossing illegally from Mexico, including 200,000 people in August.
The government had allowed some of the more vulnerable migrants to register and enter the United States.
However, many of the Haitian migrants were ordered to be flown immediately back to Haiti, the country they'd fled in some cases years earlier.
The US special envoy to Haiti resigned in protest Thursday, citing the "inhumane, counterproductive decision."
At the same time, Biden is hammered daily by Republicans and the Fox News network which portrays the southern border as out of control and the White House as surrendering American security.
© 2021 AFP
Issued on: 24/09/2021 -
A Haitian migrant bathes in the Rio Grande river in Ciudad Acuna at the Mexican-US border
Ciudad Acuña (Mexico) (AFP)
The American dream is fading for Haitian migrants confronted with the harsh reality at the US border with Mexico, where some are considering staying and getting a job to survive instead.
"I'm not in a hurry to enter the United States. If I find an opportunity, yes, but if I can't, I'm not going to risk crossing there," said 29-year-old mother Yslande Saint Ange.
"If I can't and the Mexican authorities can help us with papers to be allowed to look for a job, rent a room, then we can stay with no worries," she added.
Around the park in Ciudad Acuna where they have set up a makeshift camp, men and women gathered discussing what to do given the US repatriation of Haitians trying to cross over.
They were still recovering from the fright caused by the sudden arrival of dozens of Mexican police officers before dawn on Thursday, in what initially appeared to be a massive raid.
"I got up running and told my husband to run because the migration authorities are going to take us," Saint Ange said.
- 'Like hell' -
Mexican immigration officials then entered the camp to announce that the operation was to "protect" the migrants and "invite" them to return to the southern city of Tapachula while their refugee applications are processed.
A man carries a child on his shoulders as Haitian migrants cross the Rio Grande river between Ciudad Acuna in northern Mexico and Del Rio, Texas
PEDRO PARDO AFP
Tapachula, located near the border with Guatemala, is already crammed with tens of thousands of Central Americans and Haitians.
Many of the Haitians had been living in Chile and Brazil, which gave them refuge after the 2010 earthquake that left around 200,000 people dead in their country.
Most of those in Ciudad Acuna left Tapachula because they were tired of the daily struggle to survive there.
"If I go to Tapachula, what can I do? I left my country four years ago... I have nothing -- nothing!" said Hollando Altidor, 25.
"Tapachula looks like hell for us, with deportation in the future too," added a young man sitting next to Altidor who did not want to give his name.
Tapachula, located near the border with Guatemala, is already crammed with tens of thousands of Central Americans and Haitians.
Many of the Haitians had been living in Chile and Brazil, which gave them refuge after the 2010 earthquake that left around 200,000 people dead in their country.
Most of those in Ciudad Acuna left Tapachula because they were tired of the daily struggle to survive there.
"If I go to Tapachula, what can I do? I left my country four years ago... I have nothing -- nothing!" said Hollando Altidor, 25.
"Tapachula looks like hell for us, with deportation in the future too," added a young man sitting next to Altidor who did not want to give his name.
Marc Desilhomme, 29, said he was ready to stay in Mexico if he can send money to his daughter who lives in Chile.
"For now I don't have anything. I don't have money and I have a girl to help. Before that I need papers to work, because you know that migration hassles you if you don't have papers," he said.
- 'Not on vacation' -
The situation is more urgent for people traveling with children.
When the police arrived, Etlover Doriscar grabbed his son and wife by the hand and fled with just the clothes on his back, fearing that they would be detained.
"You can never fight with the police or immigration. They know what they can do with us and there's nothing we can do," the 32-year-old said.
Tens of thousands of migrants, many of them Haitians previously living in South America, have arrived in recent weeks in Mexico hoping to enter the United States PEDRO PARDO AFP
Attempting to cross into the United States and risk deportation back to his country is out of the question for Doriscar.
Nor does he plan to return to Brazil, where he worked for seven years as an Uber driver -- a job that he said did not pay enough to support his family.
The Mexican refugee commission is struggling with a backlog of requests for documents, and some of the migrants in Tapachula have been waiting for months for their papers.
Sonja Pierre, who arrived at the border a week ago, said commission officials should come to Ciudad Acuna to help the migrants with documents instead of sending them back to Tapachula.
"We're poor. We're looking for work. We're not on vacation," the 43-year-old said.
'They won't stop me': Haitians stuck in Colombia keep sights on US
Issued on: 25/09/2021 -
Issued on: 25/09/2021 -
Haitian migrants Benedictine Point Du Jour (R) and her son Roberth are undeterred in their quest to make it to the United States, come what may
Raul ARBOLEDA AFP
Necocli (Colombia) (AFP)
Halfway on their perilous journey to the United States, news reaches a Haitian mother and son near the Colombian border with Panama that American officials are deporting their newly arrived compatriots by the thousands.
But Benedictine and Roberth Point Du Jour are undeterred by the disturbing images of Haitian border-crossers being detained on arrival in Texas from Mexico.
"My goal is to get there and they cannot stop me," said the mother, 42, who began the journey with her son on August 6 from Chile, where many Haitians found refuge after a devastating earthquake in 2010.
With economies struggling from the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic and travel restrictions being lifted, many are now making their way north through Central America with dreams of a better life in the United States.
The Point Du Jours find themselves stuck in the coastal town of Necocli in northwest Colombia with some 19,000 other undocumented migrants, mainly Haitians, trying to enter Panama.
Some have been stranded here for weeks, waiting for seats on boats that cross the Gulf of Uraba to Acandi on the Panama border.
There are only 250 boat tickets available every day.
Necocli (Colombia) (AFP)
Halfway on their perilous journey to the United States, news reaches a Haitian mother and son near the Colombian border with Panama that American officials are deporting their newly arrived compatriots by the thousands.
But Benedictine and Roberth Point Du Jour are undeterred by the disturbing images of Haitian border-crossers being detained on arrival in Texas from Mexico.
"My goal is to get there and they cannot stop me," said the mother, 42, who began the journey with her son on August 6 from Chile, where many Haitians found refuge after a devastating earthquake in 2010.
With economies struggling from the fallout of the coronavirus epidemic and travel restrictions being lifted, many are now making their way north through Central America with dreams of a better life in the United States.
The Point Du Jours find themselves stuck in the coastal town of Necocli in northwest Colombia with some 19,000 other undocumented migrants, mainly Haitians, trying to enter Panama.
Some have been stranded here for weeks, waiting for seats on boats that cross the Gulf of Uraba to Acandi on the Panama border.
There are only 250 boat tickets available every day.
The migrants are waiting for limited places on a boat to Acandi, on the Panama border Raul ARBOLEDA AFP
From Acandi, they will start on foot -- and armed with machetes, lanterns and tents -- the dangerous trek of at least five days to Panama through the Darien jungle, battling snakes, steep ravines, swollen rivers, tropical downpours and criminals often linked to drug trafficking.
In a recent report, Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym MSF) said criminal gangs in the jungle prey on migrants, and assaults and rapes are common.
- Fear of drowning -
Still in Necocli, Roberth Point Du Jour on Thursday recounted his biggest fear: drowning on the 40-mile (60-kilometer) journey across the gulf.
"The second (fear) is that they will deport me," he said, "because the thing I want most is to make something of myself in life."
From Acandi, they will start on foot -- and armed with machetes, lanterns and tents -- the dangerous trek of at least five days to Panama through the Darien jungle, battling snakes, steep ravines, swollen rivers, tropical downpours and criminals often linked to drug trafficking.
In a recent report, Doctors Without Borders (known by its French acronym MSF) said criminal gangs in the jungle prey on migrants, and assaults and rapes are common.
- Fear of drowning -
Still in Necocli, Roberth Point Du Jour on Thursday recounted his biggest fear: drowning on the 40-mile (60-kilometer) journey across the gulf.
"The second (fear) is that they will deport me," he said, "because the thing I want most is to make something of myself in life."
Nearly 20,000 undocumented migrants, mainly Haitians, are stuck in the northwestern Colombian town of Necocli, trying to make their way to Panama and ultimately the United States
Raul ARBOLEDA AFP
The US government came in for much criticism over images of mounted border patrol officers wielding long leather reins and confronting a slew of migrants crossing the border from Mexico.
Many have been driven back, and some 1,400 others repatriated to Haiti on a series of flights.
"It's a shame but my goal is... to get there, no matter what," Benedictine insisted, stubbornly.
Waiting their turn, she and her son are renting accommodation in Necocli -- a town of some 45,000 people -- for $10 a night.
Many other migrants have no choice but to camp on the beach.
"It's too late to go back now," said Frank, a 38-year-old Haitian who also made the trip from Chile and withholds his family name for fear of reprisals from authorities along the way.
Six countries still separate him from the United States, where friends and family await.
The US government came in for much criticism over images of mounted border patrol officers wielding long leather reins and confronting a slew of migrants crossing the border from Mexico.
Many have been driven back, and some 1,400 others repatriated to Haiti on a series of flights.
"It's a shame but my goal is... to get there, no matter what," Benedictine insisted, stubbornly.
Waiting their turn, she and her son are renting accommodation in Necocli -- a town of some 45,000 people -- for $10 a night.
Many other migrants have no choice but to camp on the beach.
"It's too late to go back now," said Frank, a 38-year-old Haitian who also made the trip from Chile and withholds his family name for fear of reprisals from authorities along the way.
Six countries still separate him from the United States, where friends and family await.
So far this year, an estimated 60,000 people have crossed the Colombia-Panama border Raul
ARBOLEDA AFP
Frank is travelling with five relatives including a baby of six months.
Under an agreement between the governments of Panama and Colombia, no more than 650 migrants are allowed to cross the border every day, contributing to the bottleneck.
Some 11,500 people have managed to buy tickets to make the boat trip to Acandi by October 13, and a further unknown number of people are trying to make the crossing on "illegal" vessels, according to Colombia's human rights ombudsman Carlos Camargo.
- 'Do not come' -
All this despite US officials insisting in recent months that undocumented migrants will not be allowed entry.
"Do not come," Vice President Kamala Harris said in June. "You will be turned back."
But officials say there have been several thousand new arrivals at Necocli in recent weeks.
So far this year, an estimated 60,000 people have crossed the Colombia-Panama border -- a key crossing for migrants fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries in search of a better life up north.
Many did not make it through the forest, according to their fellow travelers.
Those who make it to Panama, MSF said in a report last month, are generally held for processing and deportation.
Those with pending administrative or judicial processes -- refugee applications, for example, or giving testimony against human traffickers -- can be held at a migrant reception center for weeks or months.
"The centers are a source of complaints, as those who are held there face inadequate food and shelter, a lack of clean water and showers, and no means to communicate with their families," MSF said.
© 2021 AFP
Frank is travelling with five relatives including a baby of six months.
Under an agreement between the governments of Panama and Colombia, no more than 650 migrants are allowed to cross the border every day, contributing to the bottleneck.
Some 11,500 people have managed to buy tickets to make the boat trip to Acandi by October 13, and a further unknown number of people are trying to make the crossing on "illegal" vessels, according to Colombia's human rights ombudsman Carlos Camargo.
- 'Do not come' -
All this despite US officials insisting in recent months that undocumented migrants will not be allowed entry.
"Do not come," Vice President Kamala Harris said in June. "You will be turned back."
But officials say there have been several thousand new arrivals at Necocli in recent weeks.
So far this year, an estimated 60,000 people have crossed the Colombia-Panama border -- a key crossing for migrants fleeing poverty and violence in their home countries in search of a better life up north.
Many did not make it through the forest, according to their fellow travelers.
Those who make it to Panama, MSF said in a report last month, are generally held for processing and deportation.
Those with pending administrative or judicial processes -- refugee applications, for example, or giving testimony against human traffickers -- can be held at a migrant reception center for weeks or months.
"The centers are a source of complaints, as those who are held there face inadequate food and shelter, a lack of clean water and showers, and no means to communicate with their families," MSF said.
© 2021 AFP
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