尽管拜登政府在驱散聚集在德克萨斯州德尔里奥的大部分海地人方面取得了进展，但政府官员在移民待遇问题上面临内部分歧。
民主党众议员阿扬娜·普雷斯利(Ayanna Pressley)周三表示:“当我们大声反对在南部边境对我们的海地兄弟姐妹的残忍、不人道和彻头彻尾的种族主义待遇时，我们不能也绝不能在这一时刻视而不见。
在国会越来越多的民主党领袖的参与下，普雷斯利提到了边境巡逻人员骑马对抗移民并咄咄逼人地挣脱缰绳的惊人画面。
一些民主党人也呼吁拜登政府立即停止将海地人遣返到他们的岛国，理由是担心安全。截至周三晚上，官员们报告说，在南德克萨斯州德尔里奥镇的一座国际桥下的营地里，只剩下不到5000名移民，因为拜登政府正在紧急追踪、处理和转移这个一度激增至14000多人的群体。
众议员普雷斯利在谈到美国南部边境局势时说:“海地人的生命就是黑人的生命，如果我们真的相信黑人的生命很重要，那么我们就必须改变方向。”“拜登政府必须立即...停止所有驱逐海地移民的行动。”https://t.co/tUeqoESHTPpic.twitter.com/gJXxntTS1q
—美国广播公司新闻(@美国广播公司)2021年9月22日
民主党众议员本尼·汤普森和格雷戈里·W·米克斯周三在一份联合声明中表示:“尽管政府迅速部署了人员和资源来应对这场危机，但解决这些弱势群体护理问题的大部分战略令人深感担忧。”。“具体来说，我们敦促政府停止向海地遣返人员，直到该国从这些毁灭性危机中恢复过来。”
在特工在边境地区遇到未经授权的移民后，国土安全部的选择有限。一些人被移交给移民和海关执法局拘留或驱逐出境，而许多人被释放到美国重新安置组织，并被给予未来报告或出庭的日期。
今年夏天，DHS延长了对海地国民的临时保护。但它只是将申请截止日期推迟到了7月29日。这意味着那些最近抵达的人没有资格获得临时保护地位，即使他们在截止日期前逃离了海地，他们将根据所谓的第42条被驱逐。
国土安全部部长亚历杭德罗·马约尔卡斯说:“我们已经考虑了国家的情况，并决定实际上我们可以遣返已经抵达的个人。
DHS周三晚上向美国广播公司新闻提供了一份声明，称从得克萨斯州到海地的转移航班将继续，并指出已经有1400多名移民飞回。该部门表示，超过3200人已被转移到其他地方进行处理、驱逐程序或驱逐。
自大流行开始以来，政府根据公共卫生法典中长达几十年的第42章，迅速将数十万移民驱逐出美国。这些驱逐令移民倡导者深感担忧，他们表示，这一过程切断了一些移民应得的人道主义保护。
移民官员称，这些协议是应对移民挑战的必要工具，但边境资源仍然紧张，代理人被推到了极限，试图管理德尔里奥的移民潮。
与此同时，边境巡逻人员骑马使用的战术图像激起了民主党人的愤怒，其中一些图像与极端主义观点有关联。
普雷斯利在周三的新闻发布会上说:“国会必须调查并确保对德克萨斯州德尔里奥边境巡逻人员的恶劣和白人至上主义行为进行问责。
在周三众议院国土安全委员会听证会开始时，梅尔卡斯谈到了骑马巡逻队的照片，并重申在该机构调查期间，有问题的特工不会与移民互动。
“事实将驱动我们采取的行动，”马约卡斯说。“我们自己不会手下留情，我们需要彻底但非常迅速地进行这项调查。”
他说，他预计调查将在“几天而不是几周内”结束。
“我很不高兴，我不只是对牛仔不满，他们撞倒海地人，用缰绳鞭打他们。我对本届政府感到不满，”众议员玛克辛·沃特斯在关于美国南部边境局势的新闻发布会上说。https://t.co/tUeqoESHTPpic.twitter.com/BuWTMs8ilf
—美国广播公司新闻(@美国广播公司)2021年9月22日
周三，马约卡斯再次被要求提供数据，解释移民在被边境官员逮捕或拘留后发生了什么。当佛罗里达州共和党众议员卡洛斯·吉梅内斯反复询问时，他拒绝提供细节或估计，理由是担心准确性。
“国会议员，我想准确地向美国国会和提出这个问题的你传达我的数据，”马约卡斯说。
白宫新闻秘书詹恩·普萨基星期三也被问及缺乏来自DHS的关于海地国民最终去向的信息，包括有多少人被释放到美国
普萨基说:“我当然明白你为什么要问，也明白人们为什么一直在问梅奥尔卡斯部长。“这些数字是国土安全部部长掌握的最新数字。”
“但为什么追踪这样一个简单的数字如此困难?”美国广播公司新闻白宫记者塞西莉亚·维加问道。“为什么不能给呢?为什么他不能给?他被问到这个问题已经两天了。”
“我肯定他们会提供的。这是一个绝对公平的问题，我相信他只是想提供最新的数据，”普萨基回应道。
美国副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯周二与马约卡斯进行了交谈，表达了她对移民在国土安全部下属的边境巡逻人员手中所受待遇的担忧。
根据副总统办公室的谈话内容，马约尔卡斯向她承诺了边境巡逻人员骑马事件的最新调查情况，并表示该部门正在认真履行提供人道主义支持的义务。
Democrats lash out at Biden administration over handling of Haitian migrants
Even as the Biden administration makes progress toward dispersing the large group of mostly Haitian nationals gathered in Del Rio, Texas, government officials are facing internal divisions over how the migrants have been treated.
"As we speak out against the cruel, the inhumane, and the flat out racist treatment of our Haitian brothers and sisters at the southern border we cannot and we must not look away in this moment," Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley said Wednesday.
Joined by a growing chorus of Democratic leaders in Congress, Pressley was referring to the striking images of Border Patrol agents on horseback confronting migrants and snapping their reins aggressively.
Some Democrats are also calling on the Biden administration to immediately stop repatriating the Haitians back to their island nation, citing concerns about safety. As of Wednesday night, officials reported there were fewer than 5,000 migrants left in the encampment under an international bridge in the South Texas town of Del Rio, as the Biden administration scrambles to track, process and remove the group that at one point ballooned to more than 14,000 people.
Rep. Pressley on situation at U.S. southern border: “Haitian lives are Black lives, and if we truly believe that Black lives matter, then we must reverse course." "The Biden administration must immediately...halt all deportations of Haitian migrants."https://t.co/tUeqoESHTPpic.twitter.com/gJXxntTS1q
— ABC News (@ABC)September 22, 2021
"Despite the Administration’s rapid deployment of personnel and resources in response to this crisis, much of the strategy to address the care of these vulnerable individuals is deeply concerning," Democratic Reps. Bennie Thompson and Gregory W. Meeks said in a joint statement on Wednesday. "Specifically, we urge the Administration to halt repatriations to Haiti until the country recovers from these devastating crises."
The Department of Homeland Security has a limited number of options after agents encounter unauthorized migrants in the border region. Some are referred to ICE custody for detention or deportation while many are released to U.S. resettlement organizations and given a future date to report or appear in court.
DHS extended temporary protections for Haitian nationals over the summer. But it only moved the deadline to apply to July 29. That means those who have arrived more recently do not qualify for the Temporary Protected Status designation even if they fled Haiti before the deadline, and thay are subject to removal under what's called Title 42.
"We have looked at the country conditions and made a determination that in fact we can return individuals who've arrived," Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.
DHS provided a statement to ABC News Wednesday evening saying removal flights from Texas to Haiti will continue, noting that more than 1,400 migrants have already been flown back. More than 3,200 have been transferred elsewhere for processing, removal proceedings or expulsion, the Department said.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the government has rapidly expelled hundreds of thousands of migrants from the U.S. under a decades-old part of the public health code known as Title 42. These expulsions have gravely concerned immigrant advocates who say the process cuts off access to the humanitarian protections some migrants are due.
Immigration officials have cited the protocols as a necessary tool in managing the migration challenges, but resources on the border have remained strained and agents have been pushed to their limits in an attempt to manage the influx in Del Rio.
At the same time, images of the tactics used by Border Patrol agents on horseback have stirred outrage from Democrats, with some drawing connections to extremist views.
"Congress must do the work of investigating and ensuring accountability of the egregious and white supremacist behavior of border patrol agents in Del Rio Texas," Pressley said at the Wednesday press conference.
Mayorkas addressed the images of the horse mounted patrol at the beginning of Wednesday’s House Homeland Security Committee hearing and reiterated that the agents in question won't be interacting with migrants while the agency investigates.
"The facts will drive the actions that we take," Mayorkas said. "We ourselves will pull no punches, and we need to conduct this investigation thoroughly, but very quickly."
He said he expects the investigation to wrap up "in days and not weeks."
"I’m unhappy, and I'm not just unhappy with the cowboys who were running down Haitians and using their reins to whip them. I'm unhappy with this administration," Rep. Maxine Waters says at a news conference on the situation at the U.S. southern border.https://t.co/tUeqoESHTPpic.twitter.com/BuWTMs8ilf
— ABC News (@ABC)September 22, 2021
Mayorkas was pressed again Wednesday about providing data that explains what has happened to migrants after they've been arrested or detained by border officials. When asked repeatedly by Republican Rep. Carlos Gimenez of Florida, he declined to provide specifics or estimations, citing concerns over accuracy.
"Congressman, I want to be precise in my communication of data to the United States Congress and to you specifically having posed the question," Mayorkas said.
White House Press Secretary Jenn Psaki was also questioned Wednesday on the lack of information coming out of DHS about where the Haitian nationals are ending up, including how many have been released into the U.S.
"I certainly understand why you're asking and understand why people have been asking Secretary Mayorkas," Psaki said. "Those are numbers that are -- the secretary -- the Department of Homeland Security would have the most up-to-date numbers."
"But why is it so hard to keep track of a simple number like that?" asked ABC News White House Correspondent Cecilia Vega. "Why can't you give it? Why can't he give it? It’s been two days now he's been asked that."
"I'm certain they will provide it. It's an absolutely fair question to ask, and I'm certain he just wanted to have the most up-to-date numbers to provide," Psaki responded.
Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to Mayorkas on Tuesday, expressing her concerns about the treatment of migrants at the hands of agents for Border Patrol, a subdivision of the Department of Homeland Security.
Mayorkas promised her an update on the investigation into the incident involving Border Patrol agents on horseback and said the department is taking its obligations to provide humanitarian support seriously, according to a readout of the conversation from the vice president's office.
