On Thursday’s “CNN Newsroom,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) said the surge of Haitians at the border “is not going to stop anytime soon.” And that Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to Latin America hasn’t changed anything.
Cuellar said, “[W]hat I understand, there [are] at least another 30,000 Haitians in Mexico right now. There [are] also another 30,000 in Colombia also. I understand there [are] about 15,000 Haitians in Panama. So, this surge of Haitians is not going to stop anytime soon. Now, are they coming directly from Haiti? No. Are they flying in from Chile and Brazil and other countries? Yes. And, again, it’s a very difficult situation. I’ve been telling the administration since the transition team, since December 11 of last year, that there are folks that are getting the impression that this border’s going to be opened and they feel that they have an opportunity to come into the United States.”
He added, “[K]eep in mind that we’re only looking at what’s happened here at the U.S. border, but I gave you some numbers of what — the numbers of Haitians and other folks from Panama, Colombia, Mexico, and this is going to go on for a while.”
Cuellar also responded to a question on whether anything has changed since Vice President Harris’ trip to Latin America by stating, “With all due respect, no.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.