The Surging Tide of Haitians Over the Rio Grande River Into the U.S.

"There’s people killing each other in Haiti, there’s just no justice."

"I just want to live a calm life without any problems, I want to live somewhere where I know there’s justice."

Jean (last name withheld) Haitian migrant 

"This temporary closure [at port of entry] and shift is necessary in order for CBP to respond to urgent safety and security needs presented by an influx of migrants into Del Rio and is effective immediately."

"It will advance and protect national interests and help ensure the safety of the traveling public, commercial traffic, and CBP employees and facilities."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection

 

"Dire circumstances require dire responses."

"There’s people having babies down there [under the bridge], there’s people collapsing out of the heat."

"They’re pretty aggressive, rightly so — they’ve been in the heat day after day after day."

Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano

 

"There’s a lot of abuse on the way here. From people to the police, they steal our money, our passports."

"There’s some people who get stranded on the way."

"Things are calm right now, we just wanted to get here. We’re not afraid anymore."

 Junior Pacheco, 38, Haitian migrant

Migrants cross the Rio Grande between the United States and Mexico in Ciudad Acuña, across the border from Del Rio. Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for the Texas Tribune

A new humanitarian crisis assails the United States with thousands of migrants, mostly Haitian, waiting for Border Patrol to take them into custody as the first step they anticipate to filing refugee status. When Haitians were given temporary visas years ago in the wake of the deadly earthquake and tsunami that devastated the Haitian half of the island of Hispaniola shared with the Dominican Republic, as time drew near for their expected return to Haiti with their temporary visas expiring, they flocked to the border between the U.S. and Canada, to declare refugee status in Canada.

Now, they have crossed the Rio Grande between the U.S. and Mexico, overwhelming the town of Del Rio in Texas. The migrants have set up a migrant camp under the bridge spanning the two countries where they wait in their thousands, families with children along with single male migrants in dire straits needing food and water and shelter. Their numbers have overwhelmed the ability of local and state authorities to respond and they have turned for emergency assistance to the federal government.

 

Migrants have waded across the Rio Grande to buy water, food and other supplies in Ciudad Acuña as they wait for their turn to request asylum on the U.S. side. 
Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune

 

According to Del Rio authorities, over 12,000 migrants arrived at the impromptu camp, with even more expected to arrive in coming days. Dense crowds, with a deteriorating sanitary situation. Brazil and other South American nations were also the recipients of waves of Haitian migrants stemming from the 2010 earthquake. The journey to reach the United States from their Caribbean island has been fraught with danger, a gruelling journey. Efforts were underway to prioritize the families with children out of the camp and away from the deteriorating situation.

In the past 11 months, over 29,000 Haitians overall have arrived in Texas. The CBP is sending more agents to help process the migrants in Del Rio, issuing numbers as the migrants queue for formal apprehension to enable them to apply for asylum, or some type of U.S. refugee protection. Drinking water, towels and food provisions are being taken to the site which had 20 portable toilets for the thousands assembled there. "We're scrambling to bring every resource we can, but it's a logistical nightmare", commented Jon Anfinsen, top Border Patrol union official in the Del Rio Sector.

The response from the Biden administration was to advise of its intention to use emergency authorities of the U.S. public health code to return or "expel" migrants whom Mexican authorities refuse to accept. In response to which planes have now been assigned to convey the migrants in numbers back to Haiti in hurried deportation flights which had been curtailed in the wake of the 7.2-magnitude July earthquake on July 14 and the assassination of Haiti's president in that same month.

"I thought the worst-case scenario was having a couple of people, maybe 150 people roaming the streets", said Del Rio Mayor Bruno Lozano, as he watched incredulously while the size of the group increased steadily over a number of days, hitting 8,000 and then 12,000, leading him to warn the Biden White House that his community was in dire need of additional federal support to cope with the surge.