The vice president of USA, Kamala Harris, pressed his own government this week to treat migrants on the border with Mexico with “dignity” after publishing images showing the mistreatment of undocumented Haitians by Border Patrol agents.

As reported on Wednesday by the office of Harris, the vice president called the US Secretary of Homeland Security on Tuesday, Alejandro Mayorkas, to express its “grave concern about the mistreatment of Haitian migrants by Border Patrol agents on horseback.”

It is extremely rare for the White House to report a telephone conversation between two members of a cabinet, and the goal of Harris’s office was apparently to reinforce the impression that the vice president is defending the rights of migrants in the current crisis at the border. .

The vice president, whose mission is to tackle the root causes of irregular migration to the United States, asked Mayorkas to ensure that all immigration agents “treat people with dignity, humanely and consistent with the laws and values ​​”of the country.

Mayorkas assured Harris that he “shares his concern.” on the matter and reminded him that his department has opened an investigation into what happened, according to the statement.

A Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to detain a Haitian migrant. (AFP).

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Wednesday that this investigation will be completed next week, and that in the meantime, the agents involved are on administrative leave.

Psaki described as “brutal and inappropriate” the actions of these agents, who, mounted on horseback, acted aggressively and harassed immigrants to prevent Haitians from entering the country after crossing the Rio Grande (Rio Grande), according to the images .

Those photographs have drawn criticism from Biden of figures from his own party, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has called on the White House to halt the mass deportation of migrants to Haiti.

Kamala Harris asks her own government to treat migrants with “dignity”. (EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP).
Kamala Harris asks her own government to treat migrants with “dignity”. (EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL / AFP).

In this regard, Psaki assured this Wednesday that Biden remains “committed to implementing a humane and orderly immigration system that includes an established and efficient process for requesting asylum” and “staying in the United States.”

However, he said that “requires that Congress act” to approve immigration reform, and also defended that it is necessary to “improve health conditions” related to the pandemic, before lifting the so-called Title 42.

This measure, highly criticized by defenders of migrant rights, implies that the United States automatically deported most of the undocumented immigrants who arrive at its southern border, without giving them the opportunity to request asylum, taking refuge in the pandemic.

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