Biden faces heat for handling of migrant crisis

U.S. President Joe Biden faced pressure on Tuesday to halt the expulsion of asylum seekers to Haiti from a Texas border camp… After images of officials on horseback using reins as whips against migrants drew outrage and compounded concerns about their safety.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said sending Haitians back to their home country, where a presidential assassination, rising gang violence and a major earthquake have spread chaos in recent weeks, quote, "defies common sense."

U.N. human rights spokesperson Marta Hurtado also blasted the policy Tuesday…

"We are disturbed by the images we have seen and by the fact that we have seen all these migrants and refugees and asylum-seekers being transport to Port-au-Prince. We are seriously concerned by the fact that it appears there have not been any individual assessments."

The sprawling camp containing up to 10,000 mostly Haitian migrants under a bridge spanning the Rio Grande is a new flashpoint for the White House, already grappling with record numbers of border arrivals that Republican Senator Mitt Romney on Tuesday called a "disaster."

Several hundred have been sent to Haiti from the camp in Del Rio, Texas, since Sunday.

Thousands more have been moved into U.S. detention for processing and more flights are due to leave ..

On Tuesday – Vice President Kamala Harris told CBS News she was deeply troubled by images of a U.S. border guard on horseback charging at migrants ..

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, testifying before lawmakers in Congress on Tuesday, was pressed on the issue by Republican Senator Josh Hawley.

HAWLEY: "Yes or no. Mr. Secretary, do you bear responsibility for the humanitarian crisis in Del Rio? Yes or no?"

MAYORKAS:"Senator, it is my responsibility to address the human tragedy in Del Rio, to address that. And we are doing so. That is my responsibility and we are executing it."

The clashes at the border were also criticized by Mayorkas, who pushed ahead on Tuesday with moving migrants out of the camp to be flown to Haiti.

Despite the risk of being returned to Haiti after arduous journeys through Latin America to reach the United States, the hope of being let in meant many migrants are remaining in the camp… including one man who told Reuters staying was the only option for his family.