Haitian exiles and supporters blocked a section of a Miami roadway Wednesday during a protest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office, where they called for the end of the deportation of Haitian migrants from Texas.
The protesters shut down a section of Northwest 7th Avenue around noon.
Two groups had organized the rally in hopes of keeping attention on the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border involving thousands of Haitian migrants.
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Over the weekend, the U.S. began deporting migrants who had gathered under a bridge at a Texas border town.
As of Tuesday, over 1,000 Haitians have been deported and another 4,000 have been moved to other processing centers along the border.
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Photos over the weekend of border patrol agents on horseback rounding up migrants drew more outrage. And on Tuesday, at least three ICE officials and a pilot were hurt after a fight broke out on a plane that landed in Port-au-Prince with migrants on board.
Protesters also took issue with Miami-Dade police trying to clear them from blocking traffic months after Cubans took over a number of streets and highways for hours.
“We all remember how the streets got shut down. How police officers protested with the Cubans. How they were there with the Cubans. They were there with the signs up, 'SOS Cuba.' Where is SOS Haiti? Why are the police not holding up signs supporting us?” one demonstrator said.