Under fire from criticism from Republicans and calls from Democrats to act, the US government of Joe Biden announced on Saturday, September 18 that it would accelerate the pace of expulsions by plane of the nearly 15,000 migrants, especially Haitians, grouped together for several days under a bridge in Texas.

These migrants arrived from Mexico to Del Rio, Texas, crossing the Rio Grande River. 

From less than 2,000 at the start of the week, they were more than 14,800 on Saturday, according to figures from the mayor of this border town, Bruno Lozano. 

The spectacular images of these migrants massed under a bridge, in the heat, while waiting for the authorities to review their cases have in recent days pushed the Republican opposition but also Democratic voices to urge Joe Biden to resolve the situation without delay. .

The US president has so far remained silent, but on Saturday his Department of Homeland Security announced "a comprehensive new strategy to respond" to these massive arrivals.

It notably involves "accelerating the pace and increasing the capacity of deportation flights to Haiti and other destinations" in the next 72 hours.

Nationals from this poor and unstable country still form a minority of arrivals to the United States, but their numbers have been increasing for several months. 

In addition to the political unrest and insecurity that already raged in Haiti, in August a deadly earthquake devastated the southwest of the country, killing more than 2,200 inhabitants. 

Already in 2010, after an earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people, many Haitians left their country and settled in Latin America.

But finding work and renewing a residence permit became complicated for thousands of them, who headed north.

>> To see:

Haiti: a month after the earthquake, the difficult reconstruction

Faced with the influx of migrants, the Democratic mayor of Del Rio declared a state of emergency and closed the bridge to traffic on Friday. 

"Today there has been a significant change in strategy," he greeted the media on Saturday.

"The Del Rio area is getting a lot more funding." 

"We are going to see more buses arriving here" to take migrants to other border guard centers, where their cases can be examined, as well as planes for deportations, the mayor continued. 

US border police, CBP, sent 400 additional officers to "improve surveillance of the area," according to the Department of Homeland Security. 

The latter insisted in a statement that he was already leading, before Saturday, "expulsions as well as flights to Haiti, Mexico, Ecuador and the countries of the northern triangle", Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala.

A large majority will be expelled

The Biden administration recalled "that our borders are not open and that no one should take this dangerous trip," the ministry added, as in response to criticism from Republicans who accuse the Democratic president of having caused a "migration crisis. "by relaxing the measures of his predecessor Donald Trump.

Senator Ted Cruz, who represents Texas in Washington, thundered again on Twitter on Saturday after going to Del Rio on the weekend: "No one witnessing what is really going on can think that the inhumane policies of Biden make sense. "

>> To see:

Immigration United States / Mexico: the Supreme Court contradicts the Biden administration 

Border guards distributed drinking water, towels and portable toilets to migrants.

"The vast majority of migrants continue to be expelled" immediately under a health rule adopted at the start of the pandemic to limit the spread of the virus, said Homeland Security.

A federal judge, however, ordered the government on Thursday not to return families in this context, which could complicate the task of the authorities, already faced with historic migratory flows on the border with Mexico.

The government appealed the decision on Friday.

Among the other migrants, those who do not have "legal reasons to stay" are subject to the ordinary regime of expulsions, the statement said. 

More than 1.3 million migrants have been arrested at the border with Mexico since Joe Biden arrived at the White House in January, a level not seen in 20 years.

With AFP

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