Haitian Asylum Seekers Take Biden Admin to Court for Racial Discrimination, Rights Violations

this is democracynow democracynow.org the Warren peace report I'm Amy Goodman a federal court in Washington DC heard arguments Thursday in a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of racial discrimination and rights violations of Haitian Asylum Seekers the suit was brought by the Haitian Bridge Alliance and other immigrant rights groups in 2021 on behalf of 11 Haitian Asylum Seekers who describe being abused by US border agents as more than 15,000 people mostly Haitian were forced to stay in a makeshift border encampment on the banks of Rio Grand near the aunia Del Rio international bridge in Texas photographs and video footage from 2021 showed border patrol agents on Horseback chasing grabbing whipping Haitian Asylum seekers in Del Rio and sparked widespread condemnation one border agent Was Heard screaming obscenities at Asylum Seekers there in Texas including children hey you use your women this is why your country because you use your women for this [Applause] after the attack in Del Rio Texas President Biden condemned the quote horrible treatment of the Haitian migrants and promise a swift investigation it's outrageous I promise you those people will pay they will be there an investigation underway now and there will be consequences while the investigation was underway Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandra mayorca said horse border patrols were suspended the investigation into what occurred has not yet concluded we know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation's ongoing battle against systemic racism that was my Arcus in 2021 during a news conference last year journalist a Ryan questioned mycus about the attack by border patrol agents that sparked National outcry the southern border is not just Mexicans it is Asians it's Africans if we as we we've seen particularly with that issue with the Haitians um being wh with the Reigns or the horses but what is there well let me just correct you right there because act actually the investigation concluded that the whipping did not occur I'm sorry I saw it differently they were whipped with something from the horse one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is Mir Joseph who was photographed as a border patrol agent on Horseback lashed him with split Reigns grabbed his neck and gripped Joseph by the shirt collar after the assault Joseph and his family were detained then deported to Haiti for more we're joined in Washington DC by gine Joseph co-founder and executive director of Haitian Bridge Alliance and immigrant advocacy group that provides humanitarian assistance to Haitians and other black immigrants from the Caribbean and Africa gin welome back to democracy Now explain why you're in Washington DC what happened to Mir mirar Joseph um and his family members thank you and good morning uh Amy we are currently in DC because yesterday we were in court uh to be able to highlight the realities of what we just saw on the screen that did happen it happened and we had we have the proof everybody saw it so yesterday we came to court to be able to address those issues because the US government uh reached out asking for dismissal of our case so we continue to be able to fight to make sure that Justice is rendered to make sure that people do not forget the realities of what happened in the Rio in 2021 we file our lawsuit in in December of 2021 it wasn't until yesterday we're able to have our first hearing to be for the judge to to let us know if they will decide to continue uh with with the with the with the case and what was very critical as well is that we had four of the plenti present in the courtroom to show that they are they are here it wasn't just something that happened they are people and we want to make sure that continues to be the case so we had M Joseph whom everybody saw the pictures the videos of what he was subjected to in addition to three other plenti who were able to be there and share their stories with us but really to humanize to put human faces in in how the antiblack racism in our immigration system is continued to to to be a space that we have to fight and then explain what happened to Joseph's family and um he himself I mean not only what happened right there on the border uh but but the detention and the uh ultimate deportation to Haiti and what you're calling for in the lawsuit Amy one of the hardest thing that we had to deal with is the fact that the US Government tried to erase the very uh uh um fact that the people existed by expulsion and deportation and one thing that yesterday the people were counting when we were talking to them is the fact that they were held caged for over two weeks without access to any hygiene and then deported one of them shared with us yesterday that when he finally was Chained and deported when he arrived in Haiti they gave him a piece of bread and when he tasted the bread it tasted sour it wasn't until later he realized that the taste of the the taste that was in his mouth did come from the bread but from the fact that he was held without access to brushing his teeth for so long so that's why we continue to fight and we want to make sure we hold the administration accountable we hold the system accountable for the inhuman treatment of people seeking protection and safety and Mard and the 11 other plenti are representation of the 15,000 and Haitians and other people who were under the bridge in the inhumane Injustice and Mis uh a treatment that they received in the abuse and the violence of deportation and expulsion just days after the US border patrol agents um on Horseback were filmed chasing and grabbing the Haitian Asylum seekers in Del Rio Texas the US Special Envoy to Haiti resigned in protest over the Biden administration's Mass deportation of Haitian Asylum seekers in a letter the longtime Diplomat Daniel foot wrote quote I will not be associated with the United States inhumane counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees um Guin Josef can you talk about the significance of this Us official resigning are you bringing this into your case and what's happened to all the other people we see in the photographs in addition to Miraj and his family yeah the re the res the um resignation of Ambassador foot was also a critical indication of human morality right for somebody to say I will not stand by and continue to agree to this type of inhuman treatment so we applaud and continue to say thank you to Ambassador foot for standing up on be on behalf of of what is right on behalf of of human dignity because I will be honest with you history will will will definitely judge harshly uh uh the the the impact of what happened and we understand that many many laws need to be changed we understand that this is a critical Junction in our country here in the United States as we make sure they uphold the human rights and understanding seeking Asylum is a human right and and also understanding many of of the reason why people are fleeing countries like Haiti US foreign policies are major uh uh uh factors of what's Happening currently dealing with gang violence currently dealing with political turmoils currently seeing how there is this big movement to send Kenyan uh um uh police force into Haiti but at the same time understanding that the United States just put a warning on the Bahamas and Jamaica with countries we just learn that we'll also be a part of of of this special envoice special uh military uh police force to Haiti making sure that we we we hold folks accountable and let them know we are watching and the world is watching that Justice must Prevail in your lawsuit are you asking that the Ed Haitians be allowed back into the United States to fight fairly their immigration cases yes there are a few things we are asking for uh we'll be able to share more as the as the case continues uh but one of the things you're asking is accountability justice for those people to be able uh uh to to get a fair access to Asylum Fair access to protection uh uh as they continue to to barely uh survive because the conditions in Haiti continues to be extremely difficult and the deportation and expulsions of those people were were were found to be unacceptable so we will continue to fight and we are grateful that the judge listened to our request to continue uh uh the case and even though uh the government said that the our case had no basis and what the world saw is that what we witnessed um but we will continue to push forward and make sure that accountability is served but also we have systematic change in the way the in the way that we receive people in the United States in making sure that we have a fair just immigration system where people can continue to seek Asylum and seeking protection I wanted to ask you about President Biden facing more more backlash over his handling of the humanitarian crisis at the US Mexico border following reports the White House is considering executive action to deny the right to request Asylum for migrants who enter through non-official ports of Entry The Authority was previously invoked by the Trump Administration in response the Congressional Progressive caucus chair permilla GLE said quote cruel enforcement only policies have been tried for 30 years and simply do not work democ RS cannot continue to take Pages out of Donald Trump and Steven Miller's Playbook we need to lead with dignity and Humanity uh G Paul said your response carene we are 100% in line uh with Congress woman jaia Paul and we continue to make sure that is the at the center of everything that we do and we call on President Biden that he send to the ideal and the values that he he promised to save the soul of America those policies and executive orders that are being contemplated is the are the opposite of saving the soul of America and we will say again if they move forward with those only deterrence policies that as we all mention and have seen are reflecting of of former uh uh uh uh president Trump and and and his administration and Steven Miller those will become the legacy of President Biden and as we said before history will will will will really uh judge harshly those outcomes so again we call on President Biden to Center any decisions at the US Mexico border into dignity compassion fairness and human lives so we continue to push back on those on those ideas we'll continue to coordinate in collaborate and say thank you to those who are standing on the right side of history and we are asking President Biden to do the right thing

Channel: Democracy Now!

Views: 94,330

Keywords: Democracy Now, Amy Goodman, News, Politics, democracynow, Independent Media, Breaking News, World News

Id: J4ZtQ9_xQ0Y

Length: 13min 19sec (799 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 23 2024