Many migrants staying in US even as expulsion flights rise

By ELLIOT SPAGAT, MARIA VERZA, JUAN A. LOZANO and SARAH BLAKE MORGAN
Associated Press

DEL RIO, Texas (AP) — U.S. officials say many of the thousands of Haitian migrants camped in the small Texas border town of Del Rio are being released in the United States with notices to appear in immigration court or to an immigration office. The criteria are unclear. The move undercuts the Biden administration’s public statements that the thousands in the camp faced immediate expulsion to Haiti. The releases come despite a massive effort to expel Haitians on flights under pandemic-related authority that denies migrants a chance to seek asylum. A U.S. official says there are seven daily flights to Haiti planned starting Wednesday.