Earthjustice president Abigail Dillen issued the following statement today:

“The United States has a long tradition of offering refuge to people fleeing oppression and those facing life-threatening crises.

“But the Biden administration has responded to thousands of Haitian migrants fleeing violence and multiple political and economic crises, including natural disasters, by blocking their right to claim asylum and forcibly returning them to Haiti. We are horrified that Border Patrol agents representing this administration have forcibly threatened refugees with horses, nearly trampling children and using their reins as whips.

“The Biden administration’s response is a continuation of President Trump’s outrageous and racially discriminatory policy, called Title 42, which singles out overwhelmingly, Black, Indigenous, and Latin asylum seekers from Central America, Haiti, and Africa for expulsion. The treatment of Haitian immigrants at the border is a violation of human rights and basic dignity. The Haitian people have a proud history of overthrowing both slavery and colonial rule during the Haitian revolution more than 200 years ago. Attacks on Haitians seeking asylum at our border are an assault on that history, which our country purports to revere.

“We join our partners and other allies in the human rights, labor and immigration rights community in calling on the Biden administration to immediately end the abusive treatment of immigrants, rescind Article 42, and offer refuge and safety to Haitian migrants.”