The U.S. removed over 6,000 Haitian asylum seekers from the border at Del Rio. It is planning 6 deportation flights on Tuesday, denying many their legal right to asylum — using Trump-era policy.
A man at the border with 2 children said the U.S. government "has no conscience."
DHS says it is investigating images of Border Patrol attacking asylum seekers with whips.
Some were attacked while bringing food/water to Haitians trapped at the border in 104°F heat. One man said: "This treatment they are giving is racism, because of the color of our skin."
Many being deported to Haiti have not been back in years, and are returning amid political crisis, earthquake destruction and gang violence that has displaced thousands.
A man who fled after the 2010 quake, deported back with his wife & son, said: "There's no security in Haiti."
The UN condemned the U.S. for deporting hundreds of Haitian asylum seekers without hearings: "We are disturbed."
The U.S. plans 6 daily deportation flights to Haiti starting Tuesday. Only some families and unaccompanied children are allowed to wait for hearings.
Pres. Biden is using Title 42 to expel asylum seekers without their right to hearings.
Ex-Pres. Trump invoked Title 42 citing #COVID19, but health experts say it has no medical basis. Per @CNBC, it was used to expel:
▪️ 440,000+ people under Trump
▪️ 690,000+ people under Biden
@CNBC About 300 asylum seekers slept on the ground on the Mexico side of the border, some due to no food at Del Rio.
Others fear the U.S. will deport them without asylum processing — though Mexico is also making arrests:
"It would be better for us to get killed than to get deported."
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The U.S. deported 300+ asylum seekers to Haiti and is planning 7 daily deportation flights starting Wednesday.
At least 3,000 people held at a bridge at Del Rio were moved to planes or detention facilities. One woman who was deported said: "We are on the streets with nothing!"
15,000 people from Haiti have been trapped at a bridge on the U.S.-Mexico border in recent days.
Many slept on the ground, with little access to food, water or toilets. Border Patrol blocked people bringing supplies from Mexico. People say they were treated "worse than animals."
"There's no safety in Haiti."
1 in 3 people in Haiti have no secure access to food, a month after an earthquake killed over 2,200 people.
People are also escaping political crisis, poverty and gang violence but have mostly been blocked from asylum using a Trump-era rule.
Today marks 20 years since the #September11 attacks killed 2,977 people and sparked the so-called war on terror.
Since then:
▪️ Over 63,000 people developed 9/11-related illnesses
▪️ Over 3,000 first responders died from them
▪️ Over 1,000 victims' remains not yet identified
The #September11 attacks were used to justify the U.S. invasion and occupation of Afghanistan.
20 years later:
▪️ Over 42,100 civilians have been killed
▪️ Taliban has retaken control
▪️ Civilian causalities up almost 50% this year
▪️ Over 3 million Afghans internally displaced
Ex-President Bush used the so-called war on terror after #September11 to justify the invasion of Iraq.
▪️ Approx. 200,000 Iraqi civilians killed
▪️ 1 in 25 displaced by U.S. invasion
▪️ U.S. forces linked to mass killings, torture
▪️ 9M Iraqis still displaced (@WatsonInstitute)
Belarus forced a Ryanair plane to land to arrest an opposition journalist. Belarus is Europe's most dangerous place for journalists, says RSF.
Roman Protasevich mobilized protests against the president's 5th reelection. He reportedly said:
"I'll get the death penalty here."
Lithuania and some airlines say they will avoid Belarus' airspace, after it forced a Ryanair plane to land to arrest an opposition journalist.
Belarus' president, who won a 6th term in an election opposition says was rigged, ordered the flight's grounding, says state media.
UPDATE: Belarus' President Lukashenko has banned journalists from providing live coverage of protests.
Over 33,000 people were arrested at last year's protests after a disputed election gave Lukashenko a 6th term. About 30 journalists in Belarus are in jail, says a rights group.
Israel launched new airstrikes in occupied Gaza on Thursday, killing at least 1 person and hospitalizing entire families.
Airstrikes have killed at least 230 Palestinians, including 65 children. On Wednesday, a strike killed a man, his pregnant wife and their 3-year-old child.
The WHO appealed for Israel to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, including #COVID19 vaccines, as hospitals face medical shortages.
Israeli airstrikes have hit at least 6 hospitals and destroyed roads leading to them. Israel has only allowed 5 trucks of aid to enter this week.
The WHO says occupied Gaza is facing a "public health crisis" after 11 days of Israeli airstrikes:
▪️ 24 health facilities damaged
▪️ 3 water plants out of service
▪️ Hospitals facing fuel/power shortages
▪️ At least 230 killed, incl. 65 children
▪️ Over 1,700 people wounded
Palestinians are on strike in the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and in Israeli towns to protest Israel's attacks on Gaza and "against the apartheid regime."
Israel's airstrikes have killed over 200 Palestinians, including at least 61 children.
Israeli police fired tear gas at Palestinians protesting in occupied East Jerusalem, arresting several.
Palestinians are on strike to protest Israeli occupation and attacks in Gaza. One said: "Any day they choose not to work, it almost disables the country."