Aerial photos of the Haitian migrant camp in Del Rio along the Texas border taken less than a week apart show the drastic reduction in size.
As recently as this weekend, there were about 15,000 Haitians in Del Rio hoping to get asylum in the United States after they fled their country that has been torn apart by political turmoil following the Haitian president's assassination and an earthquake that killed at least 2,200.
Haitian migrants take shelter along the Del Rio International Bridge at sunset as they await to be processed after crossing the Rio Grande river into the U.S. from Ciudad Acuna in Del Rio, Texas on September 19
The area where about 14,000 mainly-Haitian migrants were camping along the Del Rio International Bridge is seen on Thursday. A large portion of the makeshift camp was cleared after as authorities continue to process and remove the people
On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN that as many as 2,000 Haitians had been released into the US pending hearings
Mayorkas has been accused by Rep. Tony Gonzales, whose district encompasses Del Rio, of trying to 'bulls***' him by claiming everything was 'under control' with the situation at the bridge
Mayorkas was asked repeatedly about how many Haitians have been released into the US pending the outcome of their immigration proceedings – and repeatedly declined to provide a specific numerical figure.
'We believe it is a very small percentage of the total that assembled in Del Rio Texas, and that will be removed,' Mayorkas responded, on a day when the US special envoy for Haiti resigned in protest of US policy on deportations.
Rep. Tony Gonzales - a Texas Republican who whose district encompasses Del Rio - ripped Mayorkas and said he was trying to 'bulls**t' him.
'No, don't tell me, 'Everything's under control.' It's not under control,' Gonzales told the Washington Examiner.
'You can bulls**t somebody else, but you can't bulls**t me,' he told The Washington Examiner. 'It was kind of like, dismissive a little bit, and that's a problem, especially when you're talking about national security. Like, there are no second chances. You have to get it right every single time, or it's game over.'
Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S. after leaving a makeshift migrant camp
Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S. after leaving makeshift migrant camp in Braulio Fernandez Ecological Park in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico on Thursday
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents on a boat rescue a Haitian migrant woman from the Rio Grande river at the Mex ico-US border near Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila state, Mexico on Thursday
Sources told the Washington Examiner that the Biden administration had set a deadline of Friday night to have the camp completely cleared.
The order from the West Wing reportedly came amid concerns over a Black Lives Matter protest scheduled to take place near the bridge this weekend.
'They don't want them all riled up,' an official told the paper, referring to U.S. authorities and the Haitian migrants respectively.
An official also said the order to clear the camp was partly to resolve an 'optics' problem.
They want those people out from under that bridge so they can't be seen anymore,' they said. 'It's an optics thing. They are moving them around for process and release. They're going to have everyone at the bridge gone in the next two days.'
Homeland Security had planned to ramp up to seven daily flights but flew only three Wednesday and five Thursday because of issues with contractors and mechanical delays, the official told the Associated Press.
Seven flights were scheduled to Haiti on Friday, six on Saturday and seven on Sunday.
During Thursday evening's interview with CNN, interviewer Wolf Blitzer noted that about 15,000 Haitians had gathered and press Mayorkas to account for all 5,000.
Mayorkas ran through the numbers, and Blitzer followed up with, 'What about the rest?'
DHS Secretary Mayorkas said Thursday that 10-15 percent of 15,000 Haitians gathered at the bridge in Del Rio, Texas have been released into the country pending their immigration hearings but failed to say where 3,000 unaccounted migrants are
'If it's 10 percent, or 15, I don't have the precise numbers,' Mayorkas responded. That would put the figure between 1,500 and 2,250 – although Mayorkas avoided specifics.
'I assure you it's a minority of the individuals, for the reasons that I have articulated, and they are placed in immigration enforcement proceedings, where they are able, where they appear before a judge. And if in fact they make a valid claim to remain in the United States, then of course, we honor that and if not they are removed as well,' he continued.
Mayorkas also addressed blistering criticism by pointing to Centers for Disease Control regulations under Title 42 – with removals pegged to the coronavirus crisis.
'It's very important to underscore the fact that this is not a matter of immigration policy, but rather this is a matter of public health policy,' he said.
'We are applying the law, pursuant to an order that the Centers for Disease Control, issued in light of the fact that this country and the world is in the midst of a pandemic
'We are exercising that authority as we are required to do to protect the health and well-being of the migrants themselves, our personnel, local communities and the American public.'
Mayorkas responded to the resignation letter put out by U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti Daniel Foote who left his job on Wednesday.
![U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti Daniel Foote resigned on Wednesday, claiming: 'I will not be associated with the United States [sic] inhumane, counterproductive, decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/09/24/08/48288115-10023829-U_S_Special_Envoy_for_Haiti_Daniel_Foote_resigned_on_Wednesday_c-a-136_1632468504535.jpg)
U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti Daniel Foote resigned on Wednesday, claiming: 'I will not be associated with the United States [sic] inhumane, counterproductive, decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti'
'What I what I wish the individual had done is stayed with the cause of addressing the needs of individuals, all throughout the Western Hemisphere and dedicating the resources and the talent and the energies of the men and women in the United States government to rebuild our humanitarian relief capabilities – just as we are doing now in the Biden-Harris administration.'
The U.S. special envoy for Haiti resigned on Wednesday because he didn't want to be involved with the 'inhumane' deportation of Haitian migrants.
'I will not be associated with the United States [sic] inhumane, counterproductive, decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti, a country where American officials are confined to secure compounds because of the danger posed by armed gangs in control of daily life,' Ambassador Daniel Foote wrote in his resignation letter, first shared by a PBS reporter on Twitter.
A migrant seeking refuge in the United States is pictured with members of Mexico's National Institute of Migration before crossing the Rio Grande river into Texas
A Haitian migrant pleads with a Mexican police officer blocking access to the Rio Grande River on Thursday
People continued to make the crossing into the United States on Thursday, wading through the Rio Grande River from Ciudad Acuna in Mexico towards Del Rio Texas
Border Patrol agents await the arrival of Migrants crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas on Thursday
Border Patrol agents pass by Haitian families wrapped up for warmth after crossing the Rio Grande River to reach the U.S. from Mexico
In the letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Foote said another reason for his resignation is that his recommendations to help Haiti have been 'ignored and dismissed'.
'Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed,' Foote continued in his letter, 'and my recommendations have been ignored and dismissed, when not edited to project a narrative different from my own.'
A State Department spokesperson accused Foote of 'mischaracterizing the circumstances of his resignation' and said some of his ideas were deemed 'harmful.'
'[A]ll proposals, including those led by Special Envoy Foote, were fully considered in a rigorous and transparent policy process,' a statement from the spokesperson reads. 'Some of those proposals were determined to be harmful to our commitment to the promotion of democracy in Haiti and were rejected during the policy process.'
'For him to to say that his proposals were ignored is simply false,' they added.
The statement claims: 'It is unfortunate that, instead of participating in a solutions-oriented policy process, Special Envoy Foote has both resigned and mischaracterized the circumstances of his resignation.'
Foote blamed Biden for making things worse in Haiti by backing the 'unelected' leader after the coup, claiming that 'picking the winner' will produce 'catastrophic results'.
'Last week, the U.S. and other embassies in Port-au-Prince issued another public statement of support for the unelected, de facto Prime Minister Dr. Ariel Henry as interim leader of Haiti, and have continued to tout his 'political agreement' over another broader, earlier accord shepherded by civil society,' he wrote.
Foote added: 'The hubris that makes us believe we should pick the winner – again – is impressive.'
'This cycle of international political interventions in Haiti has consistently produced catastrophic results,' he said. 'The negative impact to Haiti will have calamitous consequences not only in Haiti, but in the U.S. and our neighbors in the hemisphere.'
A young child sleeps on the shoulders of a woman as they prepare to board a bus toward Houston provided by a humanitarian organisation, after migrants were released from U.S. Customs and Border Protection custody on Thursday
Migrants from Haiti wait in line on Thursday to board buses near the Del Rio International Bridge
In Foote's resignation letter, he blamed the Biden administration for exacerbating the issues in Haiti, claiming his recommendations to help the country have been 'ignored and dismissed'
The resignation comes as the U.S. migration crisis surged in the past few weeks when up to 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants set up an encampment near the Del Rio International Bridge in Texas.
Jen Psaki revealed Thursday that Mayorkas told civil rights leaders that his agency will not continue to allow agents to operate on horseback at the border in Del Rio.
'I can also convey to you that the secretary also conveyed to civil rights leaders earlier this morning that we would no longer be using horses in Del Rio,' Psaki said during her daily press briefing. 'So that is something – a policy change that has been made in response.'
'We feel those images are horrible and horrific,' she reiterated from her comments in previous days. 'There is an investigation the president certainly supports overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, which he has conveyed will happen quickly.'
The images in question emerged earlier this week with Border Patrol agents on horseback allegedly using either the horses' reins or other lariats as whips when chasing after the mostly Haitian migrants.
People are fleeing Haiti and seeking refuge in America after a devastating earthquake and the assassination of their president, which has thrown the country into even more chaos.
Foote said that the deportation back to Haiti will only exacerbate the migration crisis at the southern border.
'The collapsed state is unable to provide security or basic services, and more refugees will further desperation and crime,' the now-former special envoy wrote in his resignation letter of Haiti. 'Surging migration at our borders will only grow as we add to Haiti's unacceptable misery.'
Foote only served in his post for two months after becoming the U.S. Special Envoy for Haiti in July following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. In the role, Foote served as a member of President Joe Biden's delegation to Moïse's funeral.
Before taking on that role he previously served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Haiti and as the U.S. Ambassador to Zambia under President Donald Trump.
In November 2019, during his tenure in Zambia, Foote said he was 'horrified' after a judge in the very conservative society where homosexual acts are illegal sentence two men to 15 years in prison after they were caught having sex in 2017.
He received pushback from Zambia's President Edgar Lungu for trying to dictate policy and declared him a persona non grata – or an unacceptable or unwelcome person.
Foote has served with the Department of State since 1998 and has held a litany of roles since then – including in the U.S. consulate in Guadalajara, Mexico; the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs in Colombia; deputy chief of mission in both Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and chargé d'affaires in the Dominican Republic.
While many migrants were rounded up and returned to Haiti from the U.S. in the last few days, many began crossing back into Mexico from the border town of Del Rio to avoid deportation to Haiti.
Images began emerging on Sunday of Border Patrol agents and officers on horseback rounding up migrants and preventing them from returning to the makeshift camp near the Del Rio bridge.
Immediately, the images were slammed as 'inhumane' and 'horrific' after some accused the agents of using either the reins or a lariat as a whip on the migrants. Images show a rope-like tool being thrown in the direction of some migrants who were running from the officers.
Agents insist they were not using any whips on migrants, while Mayorkas says those pictured with the ropes have been reassigned to administrative duties pending a full investigation into the incident.
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