TAMPA, Fla. — A Texas migrant camp that held more than 15,000 asylum seekers, most of whom are Haitian, has been cleared. 


What You Need To Know

  • State Rep. Dotie Joseph is trying to reunite families with Haitian migrants
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  • Expert: Haitians are fleeing destructive gangs, earthquake aftermath, prime minister's assassination

  • Homeland Security says processing facilities are at capacity

Haitian families were transported to several immigration processing facilities, however they are quickly becoming overrun. 

Dr. Linda Tavernier-Almada has been paying close attention to the latest events at the border. 

"The welcoming committee is never put out for people of African descent," said the Haiti native and University of South Florida Global Studies instructor. 

She adds that Haitians are fleeing destructive gangs. 

"You see the Haitians that are coming by South America, but what you don't see is there is a huge flight of those Haitians who are coming in, but they are also coming in with money and coming in legally," Tavernier-Almada said.

In Texas, Florida Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-Miami-Dade, visited the camps. 

The camps were cleared after migrants were transported to various immigration processing facilities or deported under Title 42 — a law that prohibits migration in the event of a pandemic or health crisis. 

"The problem with that is that when applying Title 42 is that you do not allow the person to present their legal claims for political asylum or any type of refugee protections that they might have." said Joseph. 

That includes natural disasters like the recent Haiti earthquake and the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.

"What we're seeing is an imperfect storm of things building up," said Joseph. 

The migration crisis is further compounded by the maltreatment of migrants, according to Claude Joseph, foreign minister of Haiti. 

"Prominent voices have spoken out about the shocking images, about the horse-mounted officials whipping those migrants. Those are disturbing images. We only ask that the Haitians are treated humanely," said Joseph. 

Those actions were condemned by both President Biden and the head of the Department of Homeland Security. 

DHS says its processing facilities are at capacity. 

"The problem is we are trying to figure out who went where," said Rep. Joseph, who is attempting to resolve the matter on behalf of relatives who want to reconnect with loved ones who were at the border.