immigration debate

Chuck Schumer demands Biden end 'hateful and xenophobic' deportations of Haitian migrants

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday passionately called on President Biden and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to halt the deportations of thousands of Haitian migrants who are gathered in Del Rio, Texas.

The administration's decision to launch multiple flights per day to take the migrants back to Haiti, which is experiencing multiple crises, defies not only "common sense, but also ... common decency and what America is all about," argued Schumer. He also referred to images and footage that appear to show Border Patrol agents acting aggressively toward the migrants, which he called "unnaccpetable" behavior "that must be addressed."

More broadly, Schumer said he wants the White House to altogether end Title 42, a pandemic-related immigration policy initiated by the Trump administration last year that allows the U.S. to turn away migrants because of public health risks. "We cannot continue these hateful and xenophobic Trump policies that disregard our refugees," Schumer said.

BuzzFeed News' Hamed Aleaziz, who covers immigration, writes that Schumer's comments are notable because Title 42 hasn't sparked much public outrage at or criticism of either the Trump or Biden administrations.