MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd September, 2021) UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi condemned the treatment of migrants on the US border with Mexico as violating international norms and urged Washington to revise restrictions for letting in asylum seekers.
Nearly 13,000 migrants, mostly from Haiti, arrived to the Texas town of Del Rio along the US-Mexico border over the last week, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency. Texas Governor Greg Abbott sealed the Del Rio sector and vowed to deter any large migrant groups from entering the country.
"I was shocked by images of the deplorable conditions beneath the concrete highway overpass in Del Rio, Texas, where more than 14,000 Haitians had gathered after arduous journeys from a number of countries in the Americas," Grandi said in a statement.
He noted that mass expulsions of individuals currently carried out by the Texas authorities without screening for protection needs are "inconsistent with international norms and may constitute refoulement."
Grandi further urged the US government to "immediately and fully" lift restrictions that deny most people arriving at the southwest US land border "any opportunity to request asylum."
Some 8,600 migrants were gathered under the Del Rio international bridge in a makeshift camp waiting to be processed by US Customs and Border Protection. Videos from the ground showed what appears to be law enforcement officers pushing and whipping migrants at the camp.
A probe was launched into allegations of abuse against migrants at the border.
