President Joe Biden's Administration, as announced over Sunday, has started deporting Haitians encamped under the Texas bridge near the Del Rio area border back to their country.
CBN News reported that the United States government began operations to fly the illegal migrants to Haiti on Sunday from the Del Rio International Airport while trying to block others from crossing to American soil from the Mexican border. CBN News stressed it would be the largest migrant expulsion in decades by the U.S.
On Monday, Christianity Daily reported that the Texas border crisis has escalated as 10,000 Haitians crossed knee-deep water from the Mexican border last week, making the bridge in Del Rio a temporary spot for their camp site. The makeshift tents the Haitians made barely accommodates members of their respective families and protects them from the elements nor from COVID-19 as health protocols are not followed nor in place.
The Biden Administration targets 3,000 migrants to be exported on Monday back to Haiti and have increased border agents by 600 more to fast track expulsions. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the expulsions are being conducted due to "authorities" given the United States.
"We have authorities by reason of that special circumstance and we will exercise those authorities," Mayorkas said in an interview with CBN News.
The Homeland Security Secretary's statement comes from the fact that the Haitians left their country and moved to Central and South America because of the series of calamities and political violence they were faced with. They do not to want to return to Haiti.
In addition, The New York Times reported that Haiti's government do not want to take back the illegal migrants and is instead asking "humanitarian moratorium" on the expulsions from the United States. Those being deported are said to be "shocked" for they are no longer familiar with Haiti having stayed away from it for some time.
During Monday's press briefing at The White House, Press Secretary Jen Psaki explained that the Haitians are being expelled based on Title 42 in line with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"These are individuals--as we've noted and as we've been--discussed, we are expelling individuals based on Title 42, specifically because of COVID, because we want to prevent a scenario where large numbers of people are gathering, posing a threat to the community and also to the migrants themselves," Psaki said.
"So, those are the policies that we put in place, in large part because, again, the CDC continues to recommend Title 42 be in place, given we're facing a global pandemic," she stressed.
Title 42 Section 265 is a policy enacted during former President Donald Trump's administration that suspends the guarantee of asylum provided by the United States to individuals asking for protection and entering through the Mexican border. These individuals are "expelled" or returned to Mexico or their country of origin.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extended the policy in August to prevent non-citizens from spreading the COVID-19 virus into the United States. The policy is said to exempt migrant children from being expelled from the country.
In the same press conference, a reporter asked where Vice President Kamala Harris is considering "she's supposed to be addressing the root causes of migration?" Psaki responded that Harris is indeed addressing it by working with countries on the issue. Psaki disclosed that the Vice President's efforts have already resulted in a reduction of the number of people crossing the border. She immediately returned the discussion to the situation at the Del Rio area and their efforts to address it.
"She has been addressing the root causes of migration by working with countries in the region to ensure they have the assistance they need to reduce the number of people who are coming and trying to make those journeys across the border. We've actually seen some reductions in some of those numbers," Psaki responded.
"That doesn't change the fact that this is a very challenging situation in Del Rio. We're working to implement our policies, and we're working to ensure we are also addressing root causes," she ended.
