据美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)审查的电子邮件消息显示，在海地移民涌入南部边境的几个月前，德克萨斯州前线的边境巡逻人员发出警报，称德尔里奥很脆弱，资源可能会不堪重负。
尽管有警告，官员们说，移民潮的准备工作直到本周大浪开始出现才开始。现在，拜登政府正忙着追踪、处理和清除聚集在南得克萨斯州德尔里奥镇一座国际桥下的人，这座桥曾一度扩大到14000多人。
在6月1日给德尔里奥区管理层的一封电子邮件中，国家边境巡逻委员会的成员表示，如果设施不堪重负，需要采取额外措施在实地处理移民。代理人提出了具体建议，包括使用数字平板电脑，以便在遇到海关和边境保护局后立即提前启动移民入境程序。
在几天后的第二封电子邮件中，Del Rio的代理人甚至确保平板电脑在合适的网络提供商处拥有无线数据功能，以便它们可以在国际边界线上使用。
这些电子邮件被发送到国土安全部下属的德尔里奥区边境巡逻队管理层。几周后，管理层用红色字体回复了6月份的邮件:
“这一点正在探索中，其他几个效率更高的平台正在考虑中。”
国家边境巡逻委员会副主席乔恩·安芬森说:“该机构确实考虑过平板电脑，但它从未变成任何实质性的东西。“随着时间的推移，这些小组的规模和频率继续增加，但在事情已经失控之后，临时设施只是在过去几天才开始上线。”
安芬森说，随着边境变得不堪重负，移民潮的基础工作上周才开始。
周三，当被共和党众议员迈克尔·麦考尔问及这些电子邮件时，国土安全部部长亚历杭德罗·马约尔卡斯说，他的部门确实跟踪中美洲和南美洲的移民情况，但这一群体在边境聚集的速度是前所未有的。
“我们观察了从北三角国家寻求通过墨西哥非正常移民的人的流动，在更南边，我们确实追踪到了这种流动，”Mayorkas说。"尽管如此，议员先生，正如我之前所阐述的，这种实现的速度是前所未有的."
“你看到这种威胁来了吗?如果是的话——如果你做了什么呢?”麦考尔追问。
“我们以前从未见过如此快速的个人移民——非正常移民，就像我们在德克萨斯州德尔里奥观察和经历的那样，”马约卡斯说。“这是一个前所未有的速度。”
美国国土安全部没有回应就电子邮件交流置评的请求。美国海关和边境保护局拒绝置评。
还有其他早期预警信号，包括夏季前几周有大量移民群体进入巴拿马的报道。据报道，巴拿马移民部门报告称，今年1月至4月，该国边境口岸增加了477%，随后该国外交部长对日益增加的压力感到担忧六月的报告来自彭博。
自那以后，大量海地移民离开了这个岛国大地震2010年1月，造成数十万人死亡。许多人搬到了巴西和智利，但他们面临着南美缺乏经济稳定和安全的局面。
边境的逮捕行动接近历史水平整个夏天。本预算年度迄今为止，CBP已经逮捕或拘留了150多万人。移民官员指出，这些逮捕中有很大一部分，有时多达三分之一，涉及惯犯，政府已采取措施将移民进一步送往墨西哥内地，以防止再次犯罪。
大约在过去十年里，海地经历了自然灾害和政治动荡，发生了两次大地震。第一次是在2010年，数千人前往南美寻求庇护。一个不太膨胀的，但仍然致命，上个月地震造成2200多人死亡。但是最近一次地震发生在拜登政府规定的7月29日海地人在美国避难的最后期限之后。
Biden admin missed red flags before Haitian migrant surge
Months before the Haitian migrant surge at the southern border, Border Patrol agents on the front lines in Texas sounded alarms that Del Rio was vulnerable and resources could become overwhelmed, according to email messages reviewed by ABC News.
Despite the warnings, officials say preparations for the migrant surge only began when large waves started showing up this week. Now the Biden administration is scrambling to track, process and remove those gathered under an international bridge in the South Texas town of Del Rio that at one point ballooned to more than 14,000.
In one email to Del Rio sector management dated June 1, members of the National Border Patrol Council expressed the need for additional measures to process migrants in the field in the event that facilities became overwhelmed. Agents offered specific suggestions including the use of digital tablets to allow for early initiation of the migrant intake process immediately after encounters with Customs and Border Protection.
In a second email days later, the Del Rio agents went so far as to ensure the tablets had wireless data capabilities with the rightnetwork provider so they could be used along the international boundary line.
The emails were sent to Del Rio Sector Border Patrol management, an arm of the Department of Homeland Security. Management responded weeks later to the June emails with a single line in red typeface:
"This is being explored, several other platforms are being considered which are more efficient."
"The agency did indeed consider the tablets, but it never materialized into anything of substance," said Jon Anfinsen, National Border Patrol Council vice president. "As the months went on, the groups continued to increase in size and frequency, but the temporary facilities are only now starting to come online over the past few days, after things had already spun out of control."
Anfinsen said the groundwork for the migrant surge only began last week as the border became overwhelmed.
Asked by Republican Rep. Michael McCaul on Wednesday about the emails, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said his Department does track migration in Central and South America but that the rate at which this group came together at the border was unprecedented.
"We watch the flow of individuals who are seeking to migrate irregularly through Mexico from the Northern Triangle countries, and further south we do indeed track it," Mayorkas said. "And nevertheless, congressman, as I previously articulated the speed with which this materialized is unprecedented."
"Did you see this threat coming? And if so -- what if anything did you do?" McCaul pressed.
"We have not seen before such a rapid migration -- irregular migration -- of individuals as we have observed and experienced with respect to the Haitians who have crossed the border in Del Rio, Texas," Mayorkas said. "That has been an unprecedented speed."
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request to comment on the email exchange. U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to comment.
There were other early warning signs, including reports of large migrant groups moving into Panama in the early weeks of summer. Panama's foreign minister was concerned about the mounting pressure after the country's migration division reported a 477% increase in border crossings between January and April, according toa June reportfrom Bloomberg.
Haitian migrants have been leaving the island nation in large numbers sincea massive earthquakein January 2010 killed hundreds of thousands of people. Many moved to Brazil and Chile, but have faced a lack of economic stability and security in South America.
Arrests at the border haveneared record levelsover the summer. CBP has made more than 1.5 million arrests or detentions so far this budget year. Immigration officials point out a significant portion, sometimes as much as a third, of those arrests involve repeat offenders and the administration has taken steps to send migrants further into the interior of Mexico to prevent recidivism.
Haiti has been devastated by natural disasters and political unrest with two major earthquakes in roughly the past decade. The first in 2010 sent thousands seeking refuge in South America. A less expansive,but still deadly, earthquake last month killed more than 2,200. But this most recent quake occurred after the July 29 deadline set by the Biden administration for any Haitians to receive refuge in the U.S.
