Civil rights leader Al Sharpton heckled near U.S.-Mexico border

Record ID: 1638250

  • Title: Civil rights leader Al Sharpton heckled near U.S.-Mexico border
  • Date: 23rd September 2021
  • Summary: DEL RIO, TEXAS, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 23, 2021) (REUTERS) SHARPTON GIVING SPEECH (INAUDIBLE) SURROUNDED BY MEDIA / PAN TO HECKLER YELLING: 'I don't trust y'all as far as I can throw y'all. Y'all crooked. You cannot lead if you don't have a leader in the White House. You're all failures.'
  • Embargoed: 7th October 2021 21:03
  • Keywords: Al Sharpton Del Rio Haitians U.S.-Mexico border migration crisis
  • Location: DEL RIO, TEXAS, UNITED STATES
  • City: DEL RIO, TEXAS, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA002EVXYHXJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: U.S. Civil Rights leader Al Sharpton was heckled by a handful of protesters on Thursday (September 23) when he visited the Texas border to demand equal treatment of Haitian migrants days after images surfaced of border officials on horseback charging at migrants.
    Earlier this week, Reuters drone footage captured hundreds of mostly Haitian migrants crossing back and forth between Ciudad Acuna in Mexico and the sprawling camp across the border in Del Rio, Texas to buy food and water that was short in supply on the U.S. side.
    Reuters witnesses saw mounted officers in cowboy hats blocking the paths of migrants, and the apparent use of horse reins swung to threaten the migrants.
    The White House has said the incident was being investigated and has announced that horses will no longer be used in Del Rio.
    Sharpton said that he was visiting the border to ensure that the migrants, who were primarily Haitian, were given the same opportunities to seek asylum as migrants from any other country.
    "We want to see the border patrol fully investigated. We want those who were involved to face justice. And we want to see full asylum rights given to those who deserve it, like anyone else in this country, that enters this country. We cannot, we cannot have a double standard at the border. We will not tolerate it. We will not have it. And we will not be silent about it," he said.
    A small group of protesters heckled him and about a dozen local residents protested his visit.
    Dr. Alma Arredondo-Lynch, a local dentist and rancher, claimed without evidence that the migrants were sick.
    "These people are coming across. They have chlamydia. They have AIDS. They have leprosy. They don't have to be vetted. But Americans, if you don't get vaccinated, you're going to be put in jail or you get fined. We're fed up. We have a double standard and we're not going to put up with that," she said.
    There is currently no jurisdiction in the United States where people are jailed for not being vaccinated.
    The camp under a bridge spanning the Rio Grande has become the latest flashpoint for U.S. authorities seeking to stem a flow of migrants fleeing gang violence, extreme poverty and natural disasters in their home countries.
    (Production: Marco Bello, Arlene Eiras)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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