Haitians file lawsuit against US government over migrant treatment
A group of Haitians files a federal class-action lawsuit against the US government after "outrageous" treatment by Border Patrol agents.
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A Border Patrol agent grabbing a migrant by the shirt
A group of Haitian migrants filed a federal class-action lawsuit on Monday against the US government, following their "humiliating" experience at the US border with Mexico in Del Rio, Texas.
The experience with Border Patrol agents, who were on horseback, gained infamy as a result of the agents' use of violence.
The lawsuit included a statement by one of the plaintiffs, Mirard Joseph, who said Border Patrol agents on horseback lashed at him.
US Border Patrol agents try to stop Haitian migrants entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 20, 2021
US says it will ramp up deportation flights for migrants flooding into Del Rio as authorities scramble to alleviate a burgeoning crisis
📸Paul Ratje pic.twitter.com/m39J1yAzRq
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A US Border Patrol agent, swinging his reins like a whip
“To see people treated like they did, horses barely running them over and people being strapped. It was outrageous,” US President Joe Biden said at the time. “I promise those people will pay,” yet nothing has materialized so far.
Joseph, the man pictured being grabbed by the shirt by a Border Patrol agent, said the encounter was the "most humiliating experience of my life."
The lawsuit accused the Biden administration of failing to prepare for the migrant influx, despite being aware of their arrival. It also places responsibility on the government for the physical and verbal abuse of the migrants, and failure to provide due process because of Title 42.
Title 42 is a public health order enacted under former president Donald Trump, which allows for the swift removal of migrants under the excuse of public health reasons (meaning COVID-19). The Biden administration made use of the order to force out tens of thousands of migrants.
The lawsuit says that Title 42 was "brutally deployed against Haitians," and that the Department of Homeland Security violated the rights of asylum-seeking Haitians.
