US special envoy for Haiti resigns citing 'inhumane' treatment of migrants

US Special Envoy for Haiti Daniel Foote has resigned over the administration's "inhumane" decision to deport thousands of Haitians attempting to enter the country, according to media reports.

On Thursday, a State Department spokesperson confirmed that Foote had submitted his resignation to Secretary of State Antony Blinken a day earlier, reports Xinhua news agency.

Foote wrote in a resignation letter that he "will not be associated with the US inhumane, counterproductive decision to deport thousands of Haitian refugees and illegal immigrants to Haiti", according to the media reports.

"Our policy approach to Haiti remains deeply flawed, and my recommendations have been ignored and dismissed," he added.


Foote, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, was appointed as special envoy to Haiti in July.

In response to the resignation, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that Foote "never once" raised concerns about migration during his tenure before his departure.

The move came after images and footage emerged showing Border Patrol agents on horseback confronting Haitian migrants crossing the US-Mexico border in Del Rio, Texas.


Twelve repatriation flights have left the US and 1,401 Haitians have been returned to Haiti since Sunday, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

There are less than 5,000 migrants in the Del Rio sector.

On Wednesday, the DHS conducted two flights from Del Rio to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and one repatriation flight from Del Rio to Cap Haitien, Haiti, with a total of 318 Haitian nationals on board- IANS