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Biden Administration Must Immediately Grant Humanitarian Parole to the Thousands of Haitians and Other Black Immigrants Languishing at a Texan Migrant Camp
Sept 17th, 2021-- The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) calls on the Biden administration to immediately address the growing human rights catastrophe at the U.S-Mexico border. On this Citizenship and Constitution Day, we ask that the Biden administration give humanitarian parole to the Haitians and other Black migrants languishing at the US-Mexico border.
Almost 10,000 migrants from Haiti and elsewhere are currently camped under a bridge that divides the country from Mexico in Del Rio, Texas. The media is reporting that 20,000 more are expected in the coming days. The migrants are living in squalid conditions while Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) claim not to have the capacity to process asylum in a timely manner for these people in crisis.
We are concerned that the continued militarization of the border and the political football between Governor Greg Abbott of Texas and the Biden administration is exacerbating the crisis. Abbott does not have the authority to shut down border crossings, however, his summoning of the national guard is a violent reaction to people who are simply seeking safety.
For years, under different administrations (Obama, Trump, and now Biden), BAJI has warned of a human rights catastrophe of this nature. The Biden administration has offered that they are different from past administrations. They have claimed a racial justice lens; and yet here we are. The US has the resources to treat asylum seekers with compassion and dignity. Today for Citizenship Day, Biden praised immigrants because they have the “courage” to leave behind everything that they know to pursue the possibilities of a better life in the US. As Black people, we know the complexities of existing on this land, and the elusive freedom and citizenship that the US promises, but everyday we dream and work toward a different reality.
We call on President Biden and his administration to move swiftly to avert any further delays that will lead to a bigger catastrophic event and immediately process those seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. While humanitarian parole is a temporary measure, it allows asylum seekers access to safer conditions as they await the backlogged asylum process.
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