AAPI Activists Condemn Mistreatment of Haitian Migrants, Urge DHS to Halt Deportation Flights

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 23, 2021

Media Contact:
Andrew Peng, Communications Associate
andrew.peng@ocanational.org

Washington, D.C. — OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates condemned the mistreatment of Haitian migrants and asylum seekers at the southern border on Thursday and urged the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to pause expulsion flights to Haiti.

Earlier this week, Border Patrol agents on horseback were filmed charging at migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border and using reins to push them back towards the Rio Grande—evoking images of slavery.

“It’s not enough to say that the images coming out of Texas are outrageous and cruel,” said OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates’ National President Linda Ng. “They also send a damaging message to the world that the United States will close its doors to asylum seekers instead of treating vulnerable families with dignity. The horrific mistreatment of Haitian migrants by Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents represents a monumental failure that must be urgently investigated by DHS’s inspector general and Congress.”

“President Biden promised a fair and humane immigration system, but the violence at the southern border and the rapid expulsions taking place are cause for concern,” added OCA’s Deputy Executive Director Thu Nguyen. “We welcome the probe launched by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility as a first step towards accountability. But just as DHS has said that they have slowed the deportations of Southeast Asian refugees, they need to halt removal flights of Haitians immediately. Haitian refugees, just as Southeast Asian and Afghan refugees, must be treated humanely and given basic aid.”

On September 17, OCA-Asian Pacific American Advocates participated in a roundtable discussion with Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and members of the DHS Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Task Force, who listened to concerns around deportations from civil rights groups.

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About OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates

Founded in 1973, OCA–Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national, member-driven social justice organization of community advocates dedicated to advancing the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). Learn more about our work at ocanational.org/about.