By Daina Beth Solomon

CIUDAD ACUNA, Mexico (Reuters) – The U.S. homeland security secretary will travel to Texas on Monday to oversee the ejection of mostly Haitian migrants from a sprawling makeshift camp they set up after wading across the Rio Grande from Mexico.

U.S. authorities are trying to stop the flow of thousands fleeing violence from gangs, poverty and natural catastrophes back home. This camp is located under the Rio Grande bridge.

U.S. officials expelled a number of migrants on Sunday. Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security Secretary of the United States, asked migrants to stop their northern trek. He said that there is no other option than to have them expelled. [L1N2QL0EG]

Mayorkas is scheduled to meet with local officials, and will host a news conference according to an office statement.

At one time, 12,000 migrants were temporarily housed in the Del Rio camp. Many of them had traveled through South and Central America in order to reach their destination and wanted to seek asylum.

The first flights of ejected Haitians from camp landed in Port-au-Prince on Sunday https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/expelled-texas-returned-haitians-lament-lost-american-dream-2021-09-20 [L1N2QM04F], and at least three more were set to land on Monday, according to flight tracking website Flightaware.

Del Rio can be found across the Mexican border, on Ciudad Acuna’s side.

Numerous Haitians, carrying bags and backpacks full of their belongings, have fled the camp to return to Ciudad Acuna. They stated that they wanted to remain in Mexico and not be sent to Haiti.

Biden did not reverse many of Donald Trump’s earlier immigration moves, but left in place an expulsion policy that was sweeping in the aftermath of the Pandemic. This policy ensured that most immigrants caught crossing into Mexico from the U.S. were swiftly turned back.

Other migrants, however, managed to make it through U.S. immigration checks without incident.

Melvin Azuaje (31-year-old Venezuelan migrant) and Manuel Azuaje (11) told Reuters that they flew to South Carolina, where a cousin awaited, once their asylum applications were processed.

Azuaje claimed that he had taken custody of Manuel following the death of their mother. They were in Del Rio for more than a week and then moved to a processing centre.

Melvin stated that Manuel was eager to begin a new life, as he loves math and baseball.

He said, “It gives me goosebumps” as he passed through Dallas airport Sunday evening.