Biden admin to step up deportation of Haitians to address migrant surge, documents say

[Lasher]

Source: NBC News

Next week, ICE plans to fly eight deportation flights to Haiti and will then increase that to 10 per week, according to a document obtained by NBC News.

As more than 10,000 mainly Haitian migrants shelter under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas, as part of a new surge of migration to that stretch of the U.S. border, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to ramp up deportation flights to Haiti over the next week, according to internal documents obtained by NBC News.

Next week, ICE plans to fly eight deportation flights to Haiti and will then increase that number to 10 per week, according to one of the documents. A few deportation flights just restarted in the past few days in response to the surge of Haitians.

The flights had previously been paused by the Biden administration in response to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that devastated Haiti on Aug. 14. A single deportation flight can hold around 135 migrants, Department of Homeland Security officials said.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/biden-admin-step-deportation-haitians-address-migrant-surge-documents-say-n1279449

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Biden had suspended these flights in February, I think.

[abqtommy]

1. I went to the link and got a little encouragement about the "lateral flights",

the relocation of Haitians to other areas of the U.S., but if we can't provide for
immigrants and refugees then we might as well give up and turn the country over to the reTHUGS.

[OldBaldy1701E]

6. Just over half a million Americans are homeless

Poverty levels are up. Welfare is almost nonexistent. We can't even help our own, much less anyone else. (Although it has become more and more apparent that we won't help our own, not that we can't. Perhaps they should act like a business. We don't seem to have an issue throwing 'help' at businesses whenever they whine about losing a few dollars... usually because of their own greedy mistakes.)

[emmaverybo]

13. We can't provide. Our social safety nets have holes in them. Housing, health care, child services,

Substance abuse, mental health, services for disabled—and we must do DACA, provide pathway to citizenship for millions and get them healthcare as well as deal with the economic plight of minority groups in America. Many who were concerned about children at the border don’t realize our foster system is broken, We deliver millions of vulnerable kids into the hands of abusers and do not have personnel to monitor placements.

Of course we can tax the rich…how is that going…? We can stop having wars and take power back from MIC. Must be rethugs stopping us from reforms. No. It’s our OWN.

And mid pandemic we can provide hospital care for 200,000 refugees coming each month to the border when we are ourselves in many places becoming a 3rd world system unable to see to urgent cases much less Covid sick?

Honestly why would we want to encourage hundreds of thousands to seek refuge with us when in the end we will not be offering them the basics even without causing further suffering to millions we are over promised to?

[abqtommy]

15. Indeed. Thanks for your accurate yet totally depressing reply!

[jmbar2]

2. I'm concerned about a surge in immigrants because of the shortage of affordable housing

People I know are having a heck of a time finding decent affordable housing - any kind of housing. With corporate entities buying up so much available housing stock and jacking up the prices, a huge influx of low income people competing for that housing could make things worse.

We need not only more affordable housing, but then to keep it out of the greedy clutches of corporations and investors who flip housing for profit. It can't happen soon enough in my neck of the woods. (Oregon).

[BumRushDaShow]

3. I had delved into this story earlier this morning

because the location was just odd.

What they said was that this group has been coming up to the U.S. from Brazil, so it finally made sense.

Normally we saw Haitians (and in a number of cases, on overloaded boats that would inevitably sink) coming into Florida, particularly since there are large communities there. So the Texas thing was a head-scratcher. Apparently a number of them had fled there after the 2010 earthquake.

[hamsterjill]

4. Some local coverage.

Keep in mind that the population of Del Rio is about 35,000.

https://www.ksat.com/news/texas/2021/09/17/del-rio-closes-border-bridge-as-thousands-of-haitian-migrants-fleeing-disaster-and-unrest-seek-asylum/

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Thanks for that!

This whole aspect of Haitians in South America is new to me. There must have been some pipeline that started post-2010 earthquake (perhaps setup by the OAS where member countries were accepting Port-au-Prince earthquake refugees) and that then established a new launching point.

After that earthquake, this is what we were shown - https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/us-trying-to-stave-off-haitian-exodus/



But meanwhile, there was an apparent migration elsewhere that were not in overloaded leaky boats and not directly to the U.S.

[hamsterjill]

8. You're most welcome.

I don’t know the answer. But I’m from the area around Del Rio and this is not easy for them. There are now estimates of over 20,000 refugees and that’s more than half the amount of the local population.

The people who live in the area, many of them from families generations back, are angry and feel helpless. Their property is being vandalized and they are afraid. They all hate Biden and blame him for this. They are IMHO appropriately concerned about the spread of COVID via these refugees because there has been no clear answer given as to if and when they are being vaccinated, made to wear masks, etc.

Again, I do not have the answers. But I feel that this issue needs to be addressed more publicly by the Biden administration. It is a real and legitimate issue. I’m not trying to spout Faux News points; but I feel we cannot ignore the problem either, and that is what residents believe is happening because they are getting no counter messages to the contrary.

[BumRushDaShow]

10. I think because there has been just one catastrophe after another

and so much of the "original" migrant issue was focused on those indigenous residents fleeing Central America and heading for Texas, that this Haitian group was "missed"... apparently quietly amassing the border around the same time. But I also think like the Central American issue, there are "brokers" who are "providing the transportation services" for this to happen, where people aren't just walking the whole way on their own, but are being transported (for some ridiculous cost) and are being "promised" some sort of sanctuary.

And in the Haitians' case, they are actually getting up there from South America, not even necessarily from Central America or even Mexico. And they also have a huge language problem by being in those countries. In fact there is only one French-speaking country in South America and that is French Guiana (which is probably where they need to be although I know obviously Haiti/France relations were blown up well over 2 centuries ago).

If anything, this is where the OAS needs to step up and come up with some "regional" plan for victims of the natural disasters in their neck of the woods. As it is, states along the Gulf Coast (including TX) have been perennial disaster areas the past couple years due to the series of hurricanes barreling through there with catastrophic winds and flooding as a result.

[hamsterjill]

11. I agree.

There are definitely “brokers” involved to have that many showing up.

Your post is well stated and reasoned. I just hope something will be done sooner rather than later.

[BumRushDaShow]

12. VP Harris is going to be busy!

[emmaverybo]

14. She is not tasked with figuring out solutions for the crisis at the border, but working on

changing conditions in migrants’ home countries causing them to flee. This will be a multi decades project and is a diplomatic effort for which she is a kind of ambassador as well as leading in developing these remedies on several fronts dealing with muti-factorial issues from poverty to
police corruption. Unfortunately, the press likes to blame her for neglecting the border. They also fail to cover what she is actually engaged in. Other than mass migration, her trip through Vietnam etc. I don’t recall photos, articles.

But then blame and dismissal has been MSM’s constant response to this administration. It is almost as if they court its failure.

[BumRushDaShow]

17. "working on changing conditions in migrants' home countries causing them to flee"

I didn't post anything that would disagree with that.

I just heard some confirmation on my local news radio about an hour ago (am trying to find the report) about what I have posted in this thread with respect to this group -

here - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2801704
and here - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2801904

and there are now some organizations in Florida who are speaking out, as Florida apparently has the bulk of Haitian immigrants who have gathered there over the decades. I.e., the vast majority of the group there in Texas fled to South America back in 2010 after that disastrous earthquake to find jobs. Fast-forward 10 years and not only has there been another earthquake in Haiti, but an assassination of the President just a couple months ago. So it seems that if they ever expected to eventually "return home" anytime soon, those hopes may have been dashed and apparently (thanks to some smuggler type groups) they are attempting to get asylum here.

It sounded like those Florida Haitian organizations may start shifting focus to give attention to the Texas group since they have mostly been involved in getting assistance to those still in Haiti after this year's earthquake.

[Devil Child]

7. Excellent news n/t

[OneCrazyDiamond]

9. .

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore

[ForgoTheConsequence]

16. Some of these responses sound like they're from a National Front message board.

Shameful.

[Steelrolled]

18. Looking at several recent stories it seems like there is quite a bit of (de facto)

bi-partisan agreement on migration policy.

[Polybius]

19. Good for Biden

Tough call, but right decision.

[ripcord]

20. Biden is enacting a responsible immigration policy

A responsible policy doesn't include unlimited immigration.