By Julia Ainsley -
NBC News
WASHINGTON - The United States knew in July that thousands of Haitians were heading to the US border.
But failing to share intelligence information and an internal debate over whether increasing deportations left immigration officials ill-equipped to handle the 28,000 migrants who camped out on a Texas bridge last month, according to three US officials.
Officials noted that the Department of Homeland Security (DSN) has acknowledged the internal flaws and included them in its discussions to better prepare for the future.
[The Mexican authorities continue to find no traces of the 13 migrants who disappeared in Chihuahua]
Two of the officials said the debate over the initiation of deportations before the migrant surge in Del Rio, Texas, was a political battle between progressives and others at DHS and that progressives won, delaying deportation flights.
Haitian migrants carry their belongings to settle in a camp where they will spend the night to start their journey to the Darien Gap, on September 27, 2021, in Acandi, Colombia.Mauricio Dueñas Castañeda / EFE
According to the three officials, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Security Department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis Nacional had information, as early as July, indicating that large groups of Haitians were heading north, from South and Central America, toward the United States border.
But the information was not shared enough within DHS and between agencies to indicate the size or speed of the migrant group or that they would all arrive in one place.
In a Sept. 20 interview in Del Río, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, said:
"I don't think we expected the increase [in migrants] to occur so quickly."
Throughout the summer, two of the officials said, there were also disagreements within the Biden Administration over whether it should increase deportations of Haitians already in the United States illegally.
[Chilean police dismantle a network of trafficking of migrant children from Haiti]
The two officials said some argued that deportations - even small amounts - would deter more people from coming, particularly Haitians living in South America.
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Others argue that it would be inhumane to send Haitians back to a country in turmoil after the assassination of its president and after suffering a 7.2 magnitude earthquake on August 14.
Ultimately, the Biden administration chose not to increase deportations, then halted all deportation flights to the impoverished island country shortly after the earthquake.
In mid-September, seeing the large numbers of people gathering in Del Rio, ICE resumed flights, and has now deported more than 7,200 immigrants to Haiti.
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The disagreement over the increase in deportations reveals internal divisions in the Administration over the toughness of border policies.
Biden, who ran in opposition to former President Donald Trump's immigration agenda, promised a "fair, safe and orderly" immigration system.
During his administration, border crossings have exploded, breaking records not recorded in two decades.
The three officials noted that DHS is conducting an internal review of the factors that led to the rapid increase in the number of Haitian migrants in Del Rio.
One of them said that the review will allow the government to "allocate appropriate resources" to prepare for future waves.
More than 20,000 Haitians are already in northern Colombia and there are thousands more in Panama who may soon decide to move to the United States.
DHS spokeswoman, Marsha Espinosa, reported that the agency's "humanitarian and operational response" to the situation in Del Río "was swift, immediately deploying personnel, basic services, food and drinking water, clothing, transportation and medical resources."
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"In coordination with partners throughout the federal government, the Department assesses daily the operational need for removal and expulsion flights," said Espinosa.
“We are undertaking the monumental task of rebuilding our previously decimated immigration system.
Doing so requires us to tackle extremely complicated political and operational issues.
We not only respect differences of opinion, but we promote them as a hallmark of good ideas and good governance. "
