  The Biden administration is rapidly deporting thousands of Haitian migrants who have been camped at a Texas border town seeking entry to the U.S.
More than 14,000 refugees, most of them Haitian, have been camping out for days in squalid conditions under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas. Some 3,300 people from the camp have already been sent to detention centers or removed on deportation flights by U.S. immigration agents, USA Today reports.
In a release Saturday, the Department of Homeland Security said it was expelling most of the migrants using Title 42 ― a Trump-era policy that allows the U.S., during the coronavirus pandemic, to quickly deport people crossing the border, typically without processing them for asylum.
Video and photos showed Border Patrol agents on horseback whipping ropes at Haitian refugees on Sunday. The refugees had reportedly gone into Mexico to buy food, and were seeking to return to the camp on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande.
Immigrant rights groups expressed outrage, urging U.S. Customs and Border Protection to “stop this discrimination” and slamming the Biden administration for choosing to “shut the door” on Haitians seeking safety.
When asked Monday about the violent images of CBP agents on horseback threatening migrants, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that while she didn’t have the “full context” of what was happening in these incidents, “I don’t think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate.”
A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that the footage is “extremely troubling” and an investigation will be “conducted swiftly,” adding that the agency “does not tolerate the abuse of migrants in our custody.” In a subsequent statement to reporters Monday, Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz said he believed the agents were “trying to control” their animals but that officials would investigate the incident.
Advocates have condemned the Biden administration for resuming deportations to Haiti, a country mired in turmoil from the assassination of its president in July and an earthquake in August that killed more than 2,000 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.
The FBI has more than doubled its domestic terrorism caseload in little more than a year and a half and doubled the amount of bureau personnel working on domestic terrorism investigations, FBI Director Chris Wray testified Tuesday. “Since the spring of 2020 ... we’ve more than doubled our domestic terrorism caseload, from about 1,000 to around 2,700 investigations,” Wray said. “We’ve surged personnel to match, more than doubling the amount of people working that threat from the year before.” The stark jump is in part due to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, which has resulted in more than 600 arrests (with hundreds more arrests in the works). LGBTQ military veterans who received other-than-honorable discharges for their sexuality, gender identity or HIV status are nonetheless eligible for government benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced this week. More than 14,000 service members were forced out of the military under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, which was established in 1994 under former President Bill Clinton. Each member who was forced out was given an other-than-honorable discharge and, as such, was unable to receive health care, guaranteed home loans or disability compensation, among other benefits.
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