Photo: PAUL RATJE / AFP / Getty Images
The Del Rio border crossing in Texas , between the United States and Mexico , will partially reopen on Saturday , announced the US Customs and Border Patrol.
The port of entry had been closed for several days as US officials cleared a nearby migrant camp that had grown to include nearly 15, 000 people, many of them Haitian migrants.
“Following this week’s efforts by the patrol To expedite the processing of the migrant flow to manageable levels and with public safety restored, CBP reopened commercial operations and trips at the Del Rio port of entry ”, noted the Customs Office s and US Border Protection (CBP).
The border will reopen to passenger and pedestrian traffic on Saturday afternoon, followed by commercial cargo traffic on Monday morning , CBP noted.
It had been closed since 17 September and traffic was diverted to the Eagle Pass port of entry, according to authorities.
Last week, until 15.000 migrants, mostly from Haiti, were herded into a sordid crowd of tents under a bridge near the Rio Grande, hoping to be processed for asylum.
However, US officials dismantled the camp and removed all the migrants.
The Friday, the mayor of Del Río, Bruno Lozano, said: “Right now, there is no person under the bridge.”
At least 2, 000 Haitians were deported and 5, 000 are still in process and could be expelled, according to the Secretary of National Security, Alejandro Mayorkas.
The rest, authorities said, were released to the United States under the asylum process or returned to Mexico voluntarily .
Mayorkas has rejected calls to stop deportations.
“In fact, we have determined, despite the tragic and devastating earthquake, that Haiti is capable of receiving individuals,” he said on Friday.
The mayor of Del Rio urged the federal government to do a better I work listening to local officials, who said adv They spoke about the coming crisis.
At least 10 babies were born while the migrants were in the camp, the mayor said.
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