蜜芽传媒

Conditions are deteriorating in a camp on the banks of the Rio Grande River where thousands of mostly Haitian asylum seekers have gathered in hopes of entering the United States. Mexico is dealing with the challenges this poses across the border. Some migrants are further south in Columbia where up to 20,000 Haitians are hoping to find a new route into the US.

The United States has begun flying some migrants back to Haiti, amid some signs of chaos on arrival.

Jessica Bolter, an analyst from the Migration Policy Institute, says many of the migrants left Haiti after a devastating earthquake in 2010, so have lost touch with their home.

鈥淢ost of these migrants aren鈥檛 coming directly from Haiti. We haven鈥檛 seen a big flow of Haitian migrants leaving the country since last month. The vast majority are coming from South American countries.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 clear the (Biden) administration fears that if it doesn鈥檛 get a handle on this sudden migration flow - which is the largest ever of Haitians by land - then things might continue to unravel up the border leading both to additional operational challenges as well as political backlash.鈥�

(Image: A man carrying a child on his shoulders wades across the Rio Grande river from the United States to Mexico, as Haitians remain camped under a bridge in Del Rio, Texas; Credit: EPA)

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