‘Takes Us Back Hundreds of Years’: Maxine Waters Reacts to Footage of Haitian Migrants
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) says the treatment of Haitian migrants at the southern border “takes us back hundreds of years.” During a Wednesday press conference, Waters reacted to footage of Haitian migrants being…
Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) says the treatment of Haitian migrants at the southern border “takes us back hundreds of years.”
During a Wednesday press conference, Waters reacted to footage of Haitian migrants being chased down by Customs and Border Patrol agents.
She asked, “What the hell are we doing here?”
Waters continued, “What we witnessed takes us back hundreds of years. What we witnessed was worse than what we witnessed in slavery. Cowboys, with their reins, again, whipping Black people, Haitians, into the water where they’re scrambling and falling down when all they’re trying to do is escape from violence in their country.”
Watch part of her press conference below:
In response to the footage, the Department of Homeland Security announced it is opening an investigation into the issue, as IJR reported.
“DHS does not tolerate the abuse of migrants in our custody and we take these allegations very seriously,” the department said in a statement.
They added, “ Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the matter and has alerted the DHS Office of Inspector General.”
Other lawmakers have spoken out against the treatment of the migrants, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), as IJR reported.
During a Senate floor speech Tuesday, Schumer said, “Right now, I’m told there are four flights scheduled to deport these asylum-seekers back to a country that cannot receive them. Such a decision defies common sense. It also defies common decency, and what America is all about.”