Scores of protesters rallied Friday in Boston against the Biden administration's treatment of Haitian migrants.
A crowd of more than 100 people gathered in front of the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Government Center. They held signs saying “Haitian Lives Matter” and “End Anti-Blackness” and loudly chanted “Stop the flights” and “We deserve better.”
State lawmakers and city officials called on President Joe Biden to stop deporting Haitians. Community leaders said migrants are beginning to make their way to Boston, which is home to the third-largest Haitian community in the country.
About 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants crossed the southern border into Texas earlier this week. Haiti is dealing with several crises right now, including the coronavirus pandemic, the aftermath of the assassination of its president and a devastating earthquake.
Protest organizers calling Biden's decision to send the migrants back to Haiti "inhumane" and "illegal." A top state department official has quit over the ordeal.
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has weighed in on the crisis, calling it "unacceptable."
Healey and 17 other attorneys general across the U.S. are asking the Biden Administration to treat the migrants with compassion and help them access humanitarian assistance.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
