Images of Border Patrol’s Treatment of Haitian Migrants Prompt Outrage

WASHINGTON — Images of Border Patrol agents on horses, pushing back Haitian migrants crossing the Rio Grande to try to reach U.S. soil, have prompted outrage among Democrats and called into question President Biden’s decision to swiftly deport thousands who had been arriving en masse at a small Texas border town.

Immigration advocates have also suggested that the administration is ignoring its own assessment of living conditions in Haiti, which it deemed so extreme that it extended authorization in late July for any Haitian who was in the country to live temporarily in the United States.

“It is reprehensible that Haitian families seeking safety amidst political violence and a devastating earthquake at home are met with anti-Black violence and no real opportunity to seek protection,” said Katharina Obser, a director at the Women’s Refugee Commission.