manuel bojorquez reports from the border. >> reporter: mixed messages from the biden administration. cbs news has learned more than 1,000 mostly haitian migrants have been allowed to enter the u.s. as part of the legal asylum process, undercutting the administration's hard-line stance that anyone arriving at the border will be immediately deported. >> many of the individuals who we encounter claim asylum and have a right to have those asylum claims heard as our laws provide. >> reporter: border patrol has not explained how it determines who is released and who is deported. those who are allowed to enter have notices to appear in immigration court within 60 days. tiffany borow who runs a nonprofit in the city says her office is helping hundreds of migrants a day who are released. i don't know if it's safe to say that during your time in this part of the border that you've never seen anything like this. >> no, no, no. we are a tiny rural community. i mean, that's half the size of our town. >> reporter: texas governor abbott sent a fleet of state-owned vehicles as a symbolic barricade a

manuel bojorquez reports. >> reporter: the flashpoint this makeshift camp in del rio, texas, between a mass deportation effort and haitians fleeing back to mexico. fewer than 10,000 migrants now remain at the camp. to escape deportation, some were forced to cross the chest-high refer holding their children above their heads. even though this stretch of the rio grande is shallower, it is still dangerous. and here you have at least one family crossing with two small children trying to get back to the u.s. for processing. on the other side of the border, mexico is also cracking down. authorities took this man and child into custody. here a migrant is kicked in the head by mexican immigration agents. and more migrants may be on the way. as many as 20,000, many of them haitian, remain bottlenecked in colombia awaiting their chance to continue their journey to the u.s. gregorio gianpierre arrived with his wife and child. he crossed to mexico looking for food for them. you heard about the deportation, what do you think? why do that? [ speaking foreign language ] do you have anything in hait

here's cbs' manuel bojorquez. >> reporter: there are more signs tonight of covid's worsening grip.cases and deaths nationwide remain dangerously high, equal to levels from last winter's devastating surge. the latest hot spots: west virginia, pennsylvania and tennessee. in florida, one of the nation's hardest hit states, governor ron desantis is not just pushing back against the biden administration's call for vaccine mandates. he's doubling down. >> if a government agency in the state of florida forces a vaccine as a condition to employment, you will face a $5,000 fine for every single violation. >> reporter: according to one analysis, in june, less than 10% of hospitals in the u.s. were at or near capacity in their i.c.u.s. now, one out of every four hospitals has at least 95% of its i.c.u. beds full. the problem is worse in the south. in florida, 24 hospitals are reporting more patients than available beds. many are suffering from covid, the vast majority unvaccinated. one consequence of that: florida teacher nathaniel osborn had to rush his 12-year-old son, seth, to the emergenc

all right, manuel bojorquez, thank you.ht, an explosive report in "the washington post" says internal research at facebook found that its photo sharing app instagram, can harm the mental health of users, particularly teenaged girls and the company has known about it for years. here's cbs' jonathan vigliotti. >> reporter: instagram's parent company, facebook, has called the apps mental health impact positive, but undisclosed research, commissioned by facebook and leaked to the "wall street journal" sheds light on a darker reality. "we make body image issues worse for one in three teen girls," facebook's research revealed. the findings of the three-year study were reportedly shown to top facebook executives during an internal presentation last year. one chart showed 21% of girls and 14% of boys in the u.s. felt somewhat worse or much worse after using instagram. >> i can't imagine any consumer product that if it harmed one- third of adults we would allow that thing to be on the market. and here we have one that's harming one-

norah. >> o'donnell: manuel bojorquez, thank you. well, now, to the covid pandemic. the u.s. is again seeing more than 2,000 americans die from covid every day as a c.d.c. advisory committee discusses the need for those covid booster shots. we get more now from cbs' nancy chen. >> reporter: tonight, a c.d.c. advisory paneling is deciding who gets booster shots, questioning whether the decision should be put on hold until more data is available, this as the nation awaits the f.d.a.'s decision on boosters. meanwhile, president biden held a virtual summit with world leaders on ending the global pandemic. he also made this pledge: >> the united states is buying another half billion doses of pfizer to donate to low- and middleincome countries around the world. >> reporter: the delta variant surge appears to be peaking nationally, according to the c.d ces and deaths will steadily decline now and continue through march without , conditions remain critical. inside st. claire regional medical center, i.c.u. beds are full, and the staff is overwhelmed. >> you can't ask nurses to take c

cbs's manuel bojorquez continues his reporting from the border. >> reporter: after just two months on, u.s. special envoy to haiti daniel foote has resigned. in a scathing letter, foote wrote he "will not be associated with the united states' inhumane, counter-protective decision to deport thousands of haitian refugees." so far, at least 1,400 migrants have been deported to haiti. the united nations children's fund says two out of three people expelled so far are women and children. also today, the department of homeland security announced it has temporarily suspended the use of horse patrols in del rio, after images of aggressive tactics sparked outrage. >> this is why your country-- >> reporter: criticism of the biden administration's handling of the crisis is coming from his own party. >> what the hell are we doing here? what we witnessed takes us back hundreds of years. >> reporter: we spoke tonight with the department of homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas. so for critics who say the administration is sending mixed messages, is there a clear message? >> there is certai

cbs' manuel bojorquez reports from the border. >> reporter: the department of homeland security is nowgating this incident where border patrol agents on horseback are seen intimidating haitian migrants at the southern border. >> i was horrified to see the images, and we look forward to learning the facts. we do not tolerate any mistreatment or abuse of a migrant. period. >> reporter: the flashpoint, this makeshift camp in del rio, texas between a mass deportation effort and haitians fleeing back to mexico, fewer than so 10 thousand migrants remain at the camp. to escape deportation, some were forced to cross the chest-high river holding their children above their heads. even though this stretch of the rio grand is shallower it's still dangerous. one family crossing with two young children trying to get back to the u.s. for processing. on the other side of the border, mexico is also cracking down. authorities took this man and child into custody. ( shouting ) here, a migrant is kicked in the head by mexican immigration agents, and more migrants may be on the way, as many as 20,000, many

cbs' manuel bojorquez has been covering this humanitarian crisis all week and he leads off our coverageht. good evening, manny. >> reporter: good evening, norah. it is a drastically different scene underneath the international bridge here in del rio, texas, as thousands ofds migrants have been moved from the camp to processing centers throughout the region as they await their fate. this is the migrant encampment in del rio just days ago. this is what it looks like tonight. >> as of right now, there are zero persons under the bridge. >> reporter: of the almost 15,000 migrants, mostly from haiti, at least 2,000 have been deported, 5,000 are still being processed and could be expelled. the rest, officials say, were either released into the u.s. under the asylum process or returned to mexico voluntarily. department of homeland security secretary alejandro mayorkas rejected calls to stop the deportations. >> we have, in fact, determined, despite the tragic and devastating earthquake, that haiti is, in fact, capable of receiving individuals. >> this is why your country ( bleep ) >> reporter:

cbs' manuel bojorquez is following the crisis in del rio, texas. >> reporter: tonight, a sea of humanity and desperation along the texas-mexico border that has overwhelmed the u.s. border patrol. a number of agents on horse back can be seen trying to keep migrate from crossing into the country while threatening them with what appears to be horses reigns or ropes including a family like this one holding a baby when the agent get dangerously close. as they tried to pass, they agents said is this to them. >> reporter: mass i show of force by texas troopers crating a barricade along the border to stop thousands of mainly hatians from arriving in del rio, texas. the department of homeland security is executing one of the most massive deportations in removing the 15,000 from the camps. alejandro mayorkas warning. >> trying to enter the united states illegally is not worth the tragedy, the money or the effort. >> reporter: some who qualify for asylum have been allowed in, like this man who fled haiti's crime and poverty three years ago and trekked here from chile. he said he left because there

here's cbs's manuel bojorquez. >> reporter: there is growing concern tonight about covid infections ination's schools. last week, more than 200,000 new pediatric cases were reported nationwide, more than five times higher than a month ago. in georgia, more than half of the state's record-high 170 outbreaks last week happened in k through 12 schools. >> they are getting infected from people who're unvaccinated. >> reporter: dr. paul offit of children's hospital of philadelphia says masks remain the best defense until children under 12 become eligible for a covid vaccine-- which, due to the lengthy approval process, he believes will not happen until the end of the year. >> i want to make sure you-- you have done the studies in the right way, that most importantly show that this vaccine is safe, safe, safe. because you are about to put this into millions of children. >> reporter: today, the c.d.c. said new studies show covid doesn't appear to be more severe in children, but more children are getting sick in communities with lower vaccination rates. >> in august 2021, the rate of hospitali

manuel bojorquez is there. manny, good morning. >> reporter: good morning.urrently on average, 61 children a day are being admitted to florida hospitals with covid-19, according to the cdc. for perspective, before this surge, that number was just six per day. yesterday a judge affirmed his ruling that the state and governor do not have the authority to ban mask mandates in schools. governor desantis is appealing. >> for us this is not about politics. this is truly about a pandemic. >> reporter: florida's governor banned mask mandates in school, but the state's second-largest school district, broward county, is pushing back, requiring masks in class unless a child has a medical exemption. so the state is following through on its threat to withhold funds equal to school board members' salaries. ignoring a ruling that struck down the governor's ban. >> ultimately when it comes down to the students' well-being, i trust the parents more than i trust the government. >> reporter: but doctors say trust the science. especially in light of the numbers. children have m