Thousands of Haitian migrants who set up camp underneath a bridge in a small Texas town on the United States-Mexico border have begun wading their way back across the Rio Grande to Mexico to avoid deportation.
Photos from Del Rio, Texas show thousands of Haitians, mostly men, moving across a yellow string across the waterway, with some holding children and supplies above their heads.
It comes as the Biden administration announced it will step up its deportation efforts of the nearly 12,000 mostly Haitian migrants, with administration officials saying they plan to begin sending out seven flights a day by Wednesday - four of which would go to Port-au-Prince and three of which would go to Cap-Haitien.
Six planes are expected to arrive in the Caribbean nation on Tuesday, according to the New York Post.
Thousands of Haitian migrants began crossing the Rio Grande back into Mexico on Monday, as the United States ramps up its deportation efforts
About 15 percent of the Haitian migrants in Mexico have accepted refuge there
A woman was seen swimming through the river on Monday
They were seen moving across a yellow string across the waterway, with some holding children and supplies above their heads.
So far this year, about 19,000 Haitian migrants have requested asylum in Mexico
The spike comes as the United States is set to send more planes with deported migrants back to the country
A few thousand Haitians arrived in Del Rio, west of San Antonio, but over the course of a few days, the number of migrants living under the bridge ballooned, forcing the Biden administration to close an entry point, reroute traffic, deploy more Border Patrol agents and begin deportation flights.
Many of those who lived in the camp trekked to the United States from South and Central America, where they had been living since escaping Haiti following a devastating earthquake in 2010.
Others fled to the United States after another devastating earthquake killed more than 2,000 people in the island nation and amid the political turmoil caused by the assassination of President Jovenel Moise in his home the month before.
But as of Monday, more than 6,000 Haitians and other migrants have been removed from the camp that once housed nearly 15,000 migrants, the Associated Press reports.
The rapid expulsions were made possible by a pandemic-related authority adopted by former President Donald Trump in March 2020 that allows migrants to be immediately removed from the country without an opportunity to seek asylum.
A federal judge has ordered the Biden administration to stop using the provision to deport families, but stayed the order until the end of September. The Biden administration has appealed the ruling.
Of the roughly 11,000 migrants who remain, 8,000 are part of family groups, according to the Washington Post.
The migrants had been crossing back and forth between Mexico and the United States for days to collect supplies
But on Sunday, US officials announced that anyone who crosses into Mexico will not be allowed back into the United States
Members of a soccer team prepare food for migrants seeking refuge in U.S. who cross the Rio Grande river into the Mexican side looking for supplies at the Ecological Park Braulio Hernandez, in Ciudad Acuna
Haitian immigrants fell in the mud after wading across the Rio Grande back into Mexico from Del Rio, Texas on September 20
Robins Exile, of Haiti, eats at a Haitian restaurant on Monday in Tijuana, Mexico
A Haitian man is detained by Mexican immigration officials near the Mexico-US border in Ciudad Acuna
Some Haitian men were seen struggling with Mexican immigration officials
Now, thousands of others are leaving on their own accord, including Isaac Isner, 30, his wife, Mirdege and their 3-year-old daughter Isadora.
The family had been in Del Rio for seven days, but decided to return to Mexico after a friend showed them cellphone footage of the United States deporting migrants.
'They were putting people on a bus and sent them to Haiti just like that, without signing anything,' Isner said.
He said his family now has an appointment with Mexico's asylum agency in the southern city of Tapachula, where they think they could be safe.
Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico's foreign minister, told the AP about 15 percent of the Haitian migrants in Mexico have accepted refuge there. So far this year, the AP reports, about 19,000 Haitian migrants have requested asylum in Mexico.
'Mexico does not have any problem with them being in our country as long as they respect Mexico's laws,' Ebrard said.
The country was busing Haitian migrants from the border city of Ciudad Acuna, according to Luis Angel Urraza, president of the local chamber of commerce.
A federal official told the AP the plan was to take the migrants to Monterrey, in northern Mexico, and Tapachula, in the south, with flights to Haiti from both those cities set to begin in the coming days.
Some Haitian migrants are now thinking about getting asylum in Mexico
They waded through waist-deep water to avoid deportations
A little girl holds her stuffed animal high above the water
Some carried their belongings in bags they held high over their heads
Migrants seeking refuge in U.S. who cross the Rio Grande river into the Mexican side looking for supplies, lineup to receive food at the Ecological Park Braulio Hernandez, in Ciudad Acuna
Meanwhile, United States officials are trying to warn migrants to not even attempt to enter the country through the southern border, where hundreds of Haitian migrants struggled to bring in food and other supplies from Ciudad Acuna as US officials stepped up its security.
The migrants were originally allowed to cross back and forth between Del Rio and Ciudad Acuna through a shallow part of the river, according to Reuters, but on Sunday, U.S. officials told the migrants they would no longer be able to return to the U.S. if they ventured into Mexico.
Many tried to wade deeper into the water to avoid law enforcement, with some crossing
