September 23, 2021

LAWT News Service

 

“Horrific images of Haitian refugees being corralled and beaten with horse reins used as whips are traumatic history flashbacks and disturbing re-enactments of the capturing of runaway slaves. This is what I saw and felt as a Black man whose DNA is embedded with the pain that these frightened and vulnerable human beings are experiencing. There is no possible explanations or excuses for their treatment.

“Border patrol agents, under the cover of authority, violently attacked these immigrants and their families. Photos document that the refugees were beaten and brutally charged by horses. It is evident that the darker shades of immigrants are treated even worse than their brown counterparts. That includes Mayor Bruno Lozano of Del Rio, Texas who claimed a ‘terror threat’ existed because of the influx of migrants crossing to and from the U.S. and Mexico, although there were no federal reports. 

“These actions by Border Patrol agents are beyond reprimand; sensitivity training or re-training; and the often-used “administrative leave.” These agents and their superiors should be fired, immediately.

“So, what was the U.S. response? 600 additional border patrol agents were ordered to Del Rio, Texas by the Biden administration.

“Haitian immigrants can check off all the refugee boxes: political turmoil with the assassination of their president; a 7.2 earthquake; many disasters and poverty.

“Where is our humanity?

“Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, ‘Your life begins to end the moment you start being silent about the things that matter. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. There comes a time when silence is betrayal.’”

Category: News