Many of the Haitians crossing into the US left Haiti years ago, see now as a good time to come to the US
DEL RIO, Texas—Thousands of Haitians are illegally crossing the southwest border into the United States.
Border Patrol agents have apprehended 15,599 Haitians from January through June this year, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) statistics. In the same period last year, 2,097 Haitians were apprehended.
Many of the Haitians left their home country years ago and have been living in South America, according to a Border Patrol agent in the Del Rio Sector, where the vast majority are crossing.
The Epoch Times spoke to several Haitians on July 25, both on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande before they crossed, and on the Del Rio side after they crossed into Texas. That morning, about 350 illegal immigrants were waiting for Border Patrol by the border fence in Del Rio. Most were Haitian.
One Haitian couple said they left Haiti two years ago, and their 9-month-old baby was born in Chile. They plan to live in New York.
One woman said she left Haiti in 2012 and lived in the Dominican Republic. She plans to live in Brooklyn, New York.
Another man left Haiti in October 2016 and flew to Chile. “If you have a family unit, they let you into Chile easily,” he said.
One Haitian man said he left Haiti in September 2019 and went to Brazil first. He’d spent the past four months in Mexico City before crossing the border. He said he has a job lined up in a manufacturing plant in Indianapolis.
Others said they left Haiti four to five years ago.
Just one couple The Epoch Times encountered said they left Haiti recently. Two months ago, they took a boat from Haiti to Chile, then flew to Monterrey, Mexico, before getting on a bus to the border city of Acuña, Mexico, and crossing into Del Rio. They plan to live in Boston.
