Topline
According to a letter received by PBS, Ambassador Daniel Foote (the U.S.'s special envoy for Haiti) abruptly resigned Wednesday amid turmoil at the U.S./Mexico border. He said he didn't want to be associated to what he called the inhumane treatment Haitian migrants.
As other migrants return from Ciudad Acuna to Mexico, some are trying to avoid deportation and others to stock up on supplies, a man carries a little girl who is holding her Barbie doll over the Rio Grande. ASSOCIATED PRNS
The Key Facts
Foote, a senior member of the Senior Foreign Service, quit in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Atony Bilinken. He stated that he didn't want to be associated in any way with the U.S. inhumane and counterproductive decision to deport thousands in Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants.
Important Quote
Our policy approach to Haiti is still deeply flawed. My recommendations have been ignored, dismissed, or edited to present a different narrative, wrote Foote.
Important Background
In the middle of deporting thousands upon thousands of migrants who have arrived in the U.S. over the past weeks, the Biden administration. Many of the refugees, many from Haiti, have been sleeping in thousands under a bridge in Del Rio in Texas. Over the weekend, U.S. officials intensified their efforts to expel the migrants. Plans were to have seven daily expulsion flights starting in the middle this week. The Associated Press reported that large numbers are being allowed into the United States despite Biden's assurances that they would be deported. Unnamed officials claimed that many migrants are being released under notices to appear (NTA), at immigration offices within 60 days.
Surprising Fact
Bipartisan criticism was levelled at the expulsion effort after videos and photos earlier in the week showed border patrol agents using aggressive tactics to corral people on horseback.
Continue reading
U.S. Report: Releasing Haitian Migrants on a Very Large Scale (Forbes).
Videos Show Border Agents Adgressively Rounding up Haitian Migrants
Homeland Security Chief Declares Video Evidence of Migrant Mistreatment at Border "Troubled me Profoundly" (Forbes).
Horse-Mounted Border Patrol officers who confronted Haitian migrants were assigned administrative duties, DHS says (Forbes).
