Pictures of border guards using whip-like horse reins to threaten migrants from Haiti have been raising concerns. There were horrifying images that showed United States border guards on horseback attempting to contain migrants at a riverside camp near the country's border with Mexico.
In a fresh development, the Biden administration is advertising for a new contract to run a migrant detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base on Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The government's contract opportunity reveals that a minimum of "10% of the augmented personnel must be fluent in Spanish and Haitian Creole."
The move caused an immediate clash between the White House and the progressive edges of the Democratic party, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez calling the plan "utterly shameful". The Democratic Representative was furious. Fellow Squad member Ilhan Omar said it was an "embarrassingly bad decision", adding: "Do better".
Private Contractor to Operate a Migrant Detention Facility
According to media reports, the migrant detention facility on Guantanamo Bay has a capacity of 120 people, but the government document is requesting that the site maintain the equipment to house up to 400.
According to the document, the facility "will have an estimated daily population of 20 people, however the service provider shall be responsible to maintain on site the necessary equipment to erect temporary housing facilities for populations that exceed 120 and up to 400 migrants in a surge event."
The listing says the facility has a capacity of 120, meaning the vast majority of "migrants and other vulnerable populations" detained at Guantanamo Bay would be placed in hastily assembled living conditions during a surge, reported NBC News.
"This equipment includes tents and cots, and the contractor must be able to have these assembled and ready with little notice. In addition, the service provider must maintain a roster of at least 50 individuals," the listing says.
This is likely in response to the massive influx of 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants to Del Rio, Texas this month.
Mass Expulsion of Haitians Migrants from Texas
More than 10,000 undocumented migrants reached US from Haiti. The United States border guards were seen flying Haitians camped in a Texas border town back to their homeland and blocking others from crossing the border from Mexico in a massive show of force that signals the beginning of what could be one of America's swiftest, large-scale expulsions of migrants or refugees in decades.
The images were slammed as 'inhumane' and 'horrific,' despite the Texas Border Patrol agents vehemently denying that they whipped migrants. Democrats also held a press conference demanding an end to "racism of how they're being treated", with Andy Levin tweeting "Haitian lives matter". Biden administration is facing a fresh and immediate challenge as it tries to manage large numbers of asylum-seekers who have been reaching U.S. soil.
