Expelled from Texas, Haitians lament lost dreams

Ejected from Texas, these Haitians arrived back home on Sunday (September 19) - over 300 of them in total.

For many of the would-be migrants it meant their search for a better life far away from their impoverished country was over.

"I left Haiti to go find a better future, because here in Haiti, all of us young people, despite finishing our studies, cannot get any work. We are on the streets with nothing!"

''I spent thousands of dollars to pay for the trip from Brazil, passing through Mexico to Texas. I could have invested that money here, I could have built a great business. It's not like we don't know how to do things."

U.S. border agents began removing groups of mostly Haitian migrants over the weekend from a large makeshift camp they had set up after wading across the Rio Grande separating Mexico and the U.S. state of Texas.

The sprawling camp under the international bridge attracted more than 12,000 people at one point, dotted with tents and tarps strung up on reeds.

Many of the migrants had paid thousands of dollars and trekked from as far away as Brazil.

They sought to petition U.S. authorities for entry and to escape the rampant poverty and gang violence afflicting the Caribbean nation.

At the Haitian capital's airport, three flights landed on Sunday, taking them back to where they started, according to a source with knowledge of the matter.

In a video message released Sunday evening, Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry pledged to assist those expelled from the U.S..

He implored them to build a future where they can "live well in our country without having to suffer these forms of shame."