US Envoy Foote Resigns in Protest of Mistreatment of Haitians

On Tuesday, U.S. Special Envoy to Haiti Daniel Foote presented his resignation to the State Department in protest at the inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants on the U.S. border.

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"Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed, and my policy recommendations have been ignored and dismissed, when not edited to project a narrative different from my own," he said, as reported by AA.

"The people of Haiti, mired in poverty, hostage to the terror, kidnappings, robberies and massacres of armed gangs and suffering under a corrupt government with gang alliances, simply cannot support the forced infusion of thousands of returned migrants lacking food, shelter, and money without additional, avoidable human tragedy,” Foote added.

His resignation followed the detention of over 13,000 Haitian migrants in El Paso last weekend. These migrants had set up a makeshift camp, where they lived under temperatures of 37ºC while waiting for their chance to be admitted as asylum seekers.

U.S. horseback riding border agents were photographed using their reins against migrants and pushing them into the Bravo River. These actions prompted protests of U.S. human rights defenders, who traveled to El Paso town to show solidarity with Haitians and urge President Joe Biden’s administration to investigate the agents.

"We call on Congress to ensure that these horrors never happen again on our border by enacting legislation on Border Patrol accountability," activists said, recalling that these attacks show the racism and xenophobia that persist in their country.

Since Sept. 19, the U.S. has expelled 14,101 Haitian migrants to their country on 12 flights, and 3,206 other citizens remain in the custody of the Border Patrol awaiting their deportation.