The US special envoy to Haiti, Ambassador Daniel Foote, has resigned on Wednesday over the mass deportations of Haitian migrants back to their crisis-gripped Caribbean nation.
“I will not be associated with the United States’ inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants,” Foote said in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday.
“Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed, and my recommendations have been ignored and dismissed.”
Foote’s resignation marks the highest-profile departure from the Biden administration.
The State Department criticized Foote’s resignation. Spokesperson Ned Price released a press statement and said:
“There have been multiple senior-level policy conversations on Haiti, where all proposals, including those led by Special Envoy Foote, were fully considered in a rigorous and transparent policy process. Some of those proposals were determined to be harmful to our commitment to the promotion of democracy in Haiti and were rejected during the policy process. For him to say his proposals were ignored is simply false, “
“This is a challenging moment that requires leadership,” spokesman Ned Price said in a written statement. “It is unfortunate that, instead of participating in a solutions-oriented policy process, Special Envoy Foote has both resigned and mischaracterized the circumstances of his resignation.”
He added that the role of the president’s advisers is to provide him with the best possible advice. “No ideas are ignored, but not all ideas are good ideas,” Price said.
Foote was appointed to the position only in July, following the assassination of Haiti’s president.
The migrant encampment – which had surpassed more than 14,000 people over the weekend – has been reduced in size in recent days, according to The Associated Press, as border officials continue to expel and relocate migrants who’ve taken up temporary residence there.
Images of US border guards on horseback using long reins to whip at asylum seekers at the weekend caused outrage within the White House and from rights groups.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on Thursday that Border Patrol agents will be banned from using horses in the Del Rio, Texas, area, referring to the “horrible and horrific” use of them to stop Haitian migrants.
“I can also convey to you that the secretary also conveyed to civil rights leaders earlier this morning that we will no longer be using horses in Del Rio,” Psaki said during Thursday’s daily briefing.
“That is a policy change that has been made in response.”
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