The thousands of Haitian migrants that had gathered and were living under a bridge connecting Mexico with Texas have been cleared from the area, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed on Friday.
The DHS head, during a Friday White House briefing, told reporters that as of Friday morning no migrants remained at the Del Rio camp, after officials reportedly processed some 15,000 individuals.
“As of this morning, there are no longer any migrants in the camp underneath the Del Rio International Bridge,” he told reporters. It was reported the day prior that an estimated 4,000 Haitian migrants had been at the campsite at the time.
The quick drawdown was not seen as a surprise, as the US has been conducting expulsion flights for Haitians who have arrived at the US border after fleeing their home country over violence and in a bid to seek better opportunities.
Mayorkas informed reporters that the department had organized approximately 17 flights back to Haiti that had transported some 2,000 Haitians.
The Friday speaking event also saw Mayorkas discuss disturbing footage that showed mounted Border Patrol agents violently grabbing ahold of Haitian migrants who sought to cross into the US at the southern border.
Агент пограничного патруля США пытается помешать гаитянскому мигранту войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас
© AFP 2023 / Paul Ratje
Photos of the incident prompted quick public outcry, particularly as they strongly evoked images of slavery.
Агенты пограничного патруля США пытаются помешать гаитянским мигрантам войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас
© AFP 2023 / Paul Ratje
Mayorkas indicated that the mounted law enforcement officials who attacked migrants with what appeared to be whips have now been assigned administrative duties, and were no longer working with migrants.
“The agents involved in these incidents have been assigned to administrative duties and are not interacting with migrants while the investigation is ongoing,” Mayorkas told reporters in the White House.
The official went on to state that an investigation into the incident is ongoing and "has not yet concluded," acknowledging that "those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation's ongoing battle against systemic racism."
While Mayorkas noted that the photos are shocking, he and Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz rejected allegations that whips were used in the agents' efforts to detain the Haitian migrants. What looks remarkably like whips in the photographs and video, according to the pair, were the reins the riders used to control their horses.