U.S. Special Envoy To Haiti Quits, State Dep't Gives Him A Moutfhul

The US special envoy to Haiti resigned in protest in a letter that blasted the Biden administration for deporting hundreds of migrants back to the crisis-engulfed Caribbean nation from a camp on the US-Mexican border in recent days, M. Daina Beth Solomon and Humeyra Pamuk reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Daniel Foote during the signing of his appointment papers

Daniel Foote, a career diplomat named to his post in July, said the "collapsed state" was unable to support the infusion of returning migrants. "I will not be associated with the US' inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants," Foote said in a letter addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that circulated publicly on Thursday.

Haiti, the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, has been hit in recent weeks by a presidential assassination, gang violence, and a major earthquake. The US has returned more than 1,400 migrants from the camp in Del Rio, Texas to Haiti, including families, and moved over 3,200 people for processing away from the encampment, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials said on Thursday.

At its peak on Sept. 18 there were some 15,000 people at the camp, around two-thirds of those families, the officials said. Foote submitted his resignation to Blinken on Wednesday, a State Department spokesperson said, adding that Washington was committed to the long-term well-being of Haiti, as well as offering immediate help to returning migrants.

State Department spokesman Ned Price rejected Foote's criticism, saying that "instead of participating in a solutions-oriented policy process, Special Envoy Foote has both resigned and mischaracterized the circumstances of his resignation." Price said Foote’s resignation was "unfortunate" and defended the Biden administration's policies, saying for the envoy "to say his proposals were ignored is simply false."

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