Haitian's monthlong odyssey to America leaves him right back where he started

3 years ago 310

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CNN)Guerrier Antoine traveled done astatine slightest 11 countries implicit the people of astir a month, braving hostile authorities and convulsive bandits, being robbed of respective years worthy of savings, lone to extremity up close backmost wherever helium started: Haiti's superior Port-au-Prince, wherever helium was born.

Guerrier Antoine

"We near our families bare successful Haiti to spell and look for enactment and a bully life," Antoine said. "The way has been difficult. Every clip we get close, misery catches up."

    Antoine, 43, is conscionable 1 of thousands of Haitians detained by American authorities astatine the US-Mexico borderline and flown location this week.

      He landed connected Tuesday, helium told CNN connected Wednesday, smiling bitterly arsenic helium railed against the United States.

      "When they speech astir the USA, they accidental it is simply a state with justice. That's a lie," helium said, sweeping his limb implicit his caput arsenic helium emphasized the connection "justice."

      'We person to instrumentality attraction of our family'

      Antoine's odyssey began erstwhile helium flew southbound from Haiti to Brazil, but rapidly recovered helium was not earning capable wealth to past there.

      "We Haitians, erstwhile we get there... they spot america successful the worst moving conditions," helium said, adding helium wasn't paid capable to prolong himself and nonstop wealth location to enactment his family.

      "That's wherefore we effort to permission Brazil to migrate to the USA, truthful we tin instrumentality attraction of our family," Antoine said.

      He headed crossed South America, via Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Colombia toward Central America, facing dangers connected the way.

      "The travel was truly difficult," helium said, describing harassment and worse from the military, police, criminals and radical smugglers.

      Biden medication  scrambles to incorporate  fallout from different  borderline  crisis

      The travel came against the backdrop of a treble stroke this summertime for Haiti, already 1 of the poorest countries successful the world.

      First, President Jovenel Moise was assassinated successful his furniture by gunmen successful July. Just implicit a period later, the Caribbean federation was deed by a devastating earthquake, its 2nd successful conscionable implicit a decade. The August quake near much than 2,200 radical dormant and worsened endemic problems specified arsenic pack violence, poorness and deficiency of wellness care.

      Antoine's efforts to flight his country's misery ended astatine Ciudad Acuña successful Mexico, crossed the borderline from Del Rio, Texas.

      He was 1 of thousands of migrants trying to transverse the Rio Grande who camped nether bridges connected the Mexico broadside of the border.

      When helium tried to participate the United States, helium was seized, helium said.

      Here's wherefore  a Haitian migrant and his large   woman  made the monthslong travel  to America

      "My legs and waist were shackled with chains and my hands were cuffed," helium said, gesturing toward his legs. "They took maine and bound maine similar a thief, with chains connected my feet, chains connected my hands, and they enactment america successful prison."

      He says helium was deported to Haiti connected Tuesday without ever getting the accidental to marque his lawsuit arsenic an asylum seeker.

      "These deportations are wholly illegal. To go an asylum seeker, I indispensable person a justice to perceive maine out, I indispensable person entree to a lawyer," helium said.

      "We ne'er went earlier a justice to spot if we merit asylum oregon not," helium said.

      US nether disapproval for borderline tactics

      Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International person condemned the US attraction of Haitian migrants astatine the border, questioning the ineligible ground for the deportations and accusing the medication of putting migrants successful harm's way.

      The Biden medication is inactive relying connected a Trump-era borderline argumentation linked to the coronavirus pandemic that allows borderline authorities to swiftly region migrants apprehended astatine the US-Mexico border. In caller days, the medication ramped up those removals and accrued the gait of repatriation flights to Haiti. It says it is moving to get the concern nether control.

      Images of Customs and Border Protection agents connected horseback connected the banks of Rio Grande earlier this week, twirling their horses' agelong reins arsenic migrants attempted to wade retired of the water, sparked wide criticism.

      "The US deployment of borderline agents connected horseback against Haitian migrants connected September 19, 2021, stems from abusive and racially discriminatory migration policies by the medication of President Joe Biden," Human Rights Watch said successful a connection connected Tuesday.

      DHS temporarily suspends usage  of equine  patrol successful  Del Rio

      That's the time Antoine was deported.

      Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has antecedently defended the usage of equine patrols, but seemed to region the medication from the images of the CBP agents connected Wednesday, saying they "correctly and needfully were met with our nation's horror, due to the fact that they bash not bespeak who we are arsenic a country."

      On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security announced it was temporarily suspending the usage of equine patrols successful Del Rio.

      The aforesaid day, the US peculiar envoy to Haiti resigned, citing "the United States' inhumane, counterproductive determination to deport thousands of Haitian refugees."

      Daniel Foote, the diplomat, said successful his resignation letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Haiti is wracked with poverty, crime, authorities corruption and a deficiency of humanitarian resources.

      He said the "collapsed authorities is incapable to supply information oregon basal services and much refugees volition substance further desperation and crime," according to a House Foreign Affairs Committee adjutant who said committee seat Gregory Meeks had received a transcript of Foote's letter.

      Why galore  thousands of Haitians converged connected  the US-Mexico border

      Amnesty International joined different organizations successful attacking the government's usage of a nationalist wellness instrumentality known arsenic Title 42 arsenic the ineligible ground for the deportations.

      A national justice ruled successful September that migrant families could not beryllium expelled based connected Title 42, but paused his bid for 2 weeks to springiness the medication clip to prepare. In the interim, the Biden medication has continued to trust connected the argumentation and has appealed the ruling.

      One of the lawyers who argued against the argumentation successful tribunal called the continued expulsions "outrageous."

        "Ramping up expulsions aft a national tribunal ruled the Title 42 argumentation amerciable is outrageous," said Blaine Bookey, ineligible manager astatine the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) and co-counsel successful the Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas case.

        "Sending Haitians backmost to a spot wherever galore volition look violence, homelessness, and adjacent decease without truthful overmuch arsenic asking whether they person a fearfulness of instrumentality is unlawful and unconscionable."

        Jean Sacra Sean Roubens, Melissa Bell and Pierre Bairin reported from Port-au-Prince and Richard Allen Greene wrote from London. CNN's Caitlin Hu and Priscilla Alvarez contributed to this report.

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