Texas Representative Brandon Gill reignited debate over immigration after reposting dramatic footage of thousands of Haitian migrants crossing the Rio Grande in Del Rio, but the video wasn’t new. The footage was recorded during the 2021 border crisis and recently resurfaced as Gill compared the scene to current immigration concerns in Europe.
The footage was originally recorded by Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin in Del Rio, Texas, on September 18, 2021, during the surge of Haitian migrants gathering beneath the international bridge. He writes, “I shot this video while on a boat in the Rio Grande in Del Rio, TX on 9/18/2021 as 15,000+ Haitians flooded across the border illegally and set up a camp underneath the international bridge. Mayorkas later admitted 12,000+ of them were released into the U.S.“
Gill revived the footage with a different message, using the five-year-old video to make a point about immigration policy.
“The images of illegal third-world migrants storming over the borders of Spain, while their leftist government does nothing about it, are completely insane,” Gill wrote. “Oh, wait– this was America’s southern border the last time the Democrat Party was in power.”
The video shows the massive gathering of Haitian migrants that drew national attention to Del Rio in September 2021. Many of the Haitians who reached the U.S. border had left Haiti years earlier and lived or traveled through other countries in Latin America before attempting to enter the United States.
Gill’s repost also comes as immigration policy is once again having major consequences for Haitians already living in the United States. On June 25, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to terminate Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians. The humanitarian program had allowed eligible people from designated countries facing dangerous conditions to temporarily live and work legally in the United States
Brandon Gill’s Resurfaced Border Video Sparks Political Backlash
Gill’s decision to revive the footage generated another political fight online. Some commenters accused the Texas congressman of using the older video to stir up fears about immigration ahead of the election.
“No one’s falling for this [expletive], Brandon. It was orchestrated and you’re part of it,” one person wrote.
Another accused Gill of misleading Americans, writing, “You’re lying to the American people. Can’t wait to vote you thieves out!”
Others connected the post directly to the upcoming election. “Its almost election time. You know what that means, time for Republicans to play the ‘brown people are coming’ fear tactics again,” one commenter wrote.
However, the footage itself is authentic, and Gill did not present it as a current border crossing. His caption explicitly references the last time Democrats were in power. The dispute instead centers on the political message he is drawing from the years-old footage and its relevance to today’s immigration debate.
Five years after the scenes in Del Rio became part of America’s border debate, Gill has put the footage back in front of voters. This time, the images aren’t documenting a new border surge. They’re being used to reignite an old immigration fight as another election approaches.
