WASHINGTON \u2015 Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday criticized Joe Biden\u2019s administration over its treatment of thousands of Haitian migrants who have been camped at a Texas border town seeking entry to the U.S., calling on the president to cease\u00a0expelling\u00a0them.<\/p>\n
The Department of Homeland Security is removing most of the migrants\u00a0using a Trump-era policy that allows the U.S. to quickly deport people crossing the border due to the coronavirus pandemic,\u00a0typically without processing them for asylum. Many of the migrants have already been transported via airplane back to Haiti at the direction of U.S. immigration agents.<\/p>\n
Schumer, who represents a state that boasts the largest concentration\u00a0of Haitian immigrants in the country in New York City, urged Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to reverse the policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot continue these hateful and xenophobic Trump policies that disregard our refugee laws,\u201d Schumer said in a speech on the Senate floor. \u201cWe must allow asylum-seekers to present their claims at our ports of entry and be afforded due process.\u201d<\/p>\n
The wave of Haitian migrants seeking entry to the U.S. grew over the summer after the\u00a0assassination of the country\u2019s president in July and an earthquake in August\u00a0that killed more than 2,000 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes. The number of migrants has overwhelmed U.S. immigration officials, which have been forced to deploy hundreds of additional agents to the border city of Del Rio, Texas.<\/p>\n
Video and photos of U.S.\u00a0Border Patrol agents on horseback whipping ropes at Haitian refugees\u00a0on Sunday sparked widespread criticism of the administration\u2019s handling of the situation, with other Democratic lawmakers calling for an investigation into the matter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t imagine what context would make that appropriate, but I don\u2019t have additional details, and certainly I don\u2019t have additional context,\u201d White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Monday at a White House press briefing. \u201cI don\u2019t think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate.\u201d<\/p>\n