US blocks Mexican border to stem flow of Haitian migrants
19 September 2021, 18:14
Three planes have taken some of the migrants back to their homeland.
The United States blocked the Mexican border at an isolated Texas town where thousands of Haitian refugees have crossed and set up a camp, hoping to stop the flow of migrants as officials also began flying some of the migrants back to their homeland.
About a dozen Texas Department of Public Safety vehicles lined up near the bridge and river where Haitians have been crossing from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, into Del Rio, Texas, for almost three weeks.
Yellow police tape is being used to block them from using a small dam to walk into the US.
A Mexican police officer on the Mexican side of the border said migrants will not be allowed to cross anymore.
Many of the migrants have lived in Latin America for years, but they are now are seeking asylum in the US as economic opportunities in Brazil and elsewhere dry up.
Thousands are living under and near a bridge in Del Rio.
Earlier on Sunday, the US sent three flights of Haitians back to their homeland.
The planes are expected to arrive Sunday afternoon in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital.
