KPRC 2 Investigates spoke with several Haitian immigrants who remain at an encampment just across from Del Rio in the Mexican border city of Ciudad Acuna. Many there said they were aware of the US Government’s plans for mass expulsions of Haitian immigrants, but are still determined to stay in the US.
“We crossed through 12 countries and paid $5,000 to make it this far,” one Haitian immigrant told us. “We are hoping for a better life in the United States.”
Donated food was being prepared to feed long lines of migrants camped out in the Braulio Fernandez Ecological Park. Tents, tarps and even the roof of a park building were now sleeping quarters for hundreds of families. Medical aid was present in the park, along with donations of personal hygiene products provided by the Promised Land church.
We also noticed a steady line of people leaving the camp with supplies in hand. All were heading to the near-by Rio Grande river. We saw several people crossing the river into Texas and some crossing back into Mexico.
“I am just coming back to buy some food and it take back to my three kids at the camp under the bridge,” a man from Honduras told us.
Several other people told KPRC 2 they would come back to the park in Mexico to collect donated supplies and then bring those supplies back to the camp in Texas where they were waiting to be processed by Border Patrol.
We saw Department of Public Safety troopers’ vehicles and what appeared to be National Guard troops keeping a watch over this particular spot to make sure none who crossed went beyond the confines of the camp on the Del Rio side.
Two men from Haiti said they had been living in Chile for the past four years and they decided to come to the United States when jobs dried up. A Haitian national said he had been living in Brazil and faced the same problem with trying to find work.
“I decided to immigrate to the United States to find a job so I can provide a better life for my family back in Haiti,” he said.
However, one of the men said after he spent two nights in the camp under the international bridge in Del Rio he decided to cross back into Mexico.
“I saw the situation over there and I’ve decided to stay in Mexico and look for work,” he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stated on Monday the federal government is working to ramp up the frequency of flights to deport Haitian migrants to their home country and to continue trying to move some of the migrants in Del Rio to other parts of the border for processing. There is still no timeframe for how long it will take clear the camp in Del Rio.
