Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) on Friday joined other Democrats in slamming the Biden administration over its treatment of thousands of mostly Haitian migrants who recently arrived at the southern border, arguing that it “didn’t have to happen.” .

In an op-ed published by El Paso Matters on Friday, O’Rourke wrote that the administration “should have seen them coming and ensured that the people of Del Rio, the women and men of the Border Patrol and especially the refugees themselves would not have to endure what has shocked the world over the last week.” .

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro MayorkasAlejandro MayorkasJulian Castro knocks Biden administration over refugee policy Overnight Defense & National Security — Presented by AM General — The Quad confab Mayorkas defends Biden policies on migrants in tense White House briefing MORE said Friday that out of about 15,000 Haitian migrants who gathered under a bridge connecting Mexico with Del Rio, Texas, in the past week, roughly 2,000 had been deported through repatriation flights under Title 42, a policy continued from the Trump administration that allows immediate expulsion of migrants amid the pandemic. 

O’Rourke argued that the administration should have been better prepared for the surge in migrants, given the economic and political instability that has plagued Haiti over the past decade.