Contact: media@ilrc.org
(San Antonio, Texas) The images coming out of Del Rio, Texas today of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents brutalizing Haitian migrants at the border are some of the most horrific pieces of graphic evidence of the callous treatment and blatant disregard for humanity Black immigrants face while navigating the U.S. immigration system.
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) firmly condemns the brutality and sheer violence with which Haitian asylum seekers have been met with at the U.S.-Mexico border.
“The Biden-Harris administration pledged a commitment to racial justice and a fair and humane immigration system driven by a compassionate response towards ALL immigrants seeking asylum. The events of the last few days in Del Rio fail to measure up to that promise,” said Priscilla Olivarez, Texas based Staff Attorney at the ILRC
The exclusion and cruelty Black immigrants encounter as they seek asylum at our border is not new. It’s central to immigration enforcement. As immigrant rights advocates, we recognize that the different policing institutions in this country – from local police to border patrol to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – are branches of the same system, deeply rooted in anti-Black racism.
“The Biden-Harris administration must put an end to Title 42 and other inhumane policies serving to deport Haitians and other vulnerable populations, en masse.” Olivarez said. “Keeping these policies alive is a clear choice by the administration that undermines the universal human right to asylum and to live freely from harm.”