Haiti‘s Prime Minister Ariel Henry has blamed inequality for migration amid widespread outcry over the treatment of Haitian asylum-seekers in the United States.

Henry stopped short of directly criticizing Washington over the issue in his address to the United Nations General Assembly.

“We do not wish to challenge the right of a sovereign state to control the entry borders into its territory, or to send back to the country of origin those who enter a country illegally,” Henry said in a video speech, the Associated Press reported.

“Human beings, fathers and mothers who have children, are always going to flee poverty and conflict. Migration will continue as long as the planet has both wealthy areas, whilst most of the world’s population lives in poverty, even extreme poverty, without any prospects of a better life,” the Haitian leader pointed out.

He also said that many countries have been built on waves of migration, a veiled reference to the United States.

Haiti reels from its president’s assassination, an earthquake, and the migration crisis — all in the last three months. And Ariel’s government is facing increasing turmoil with presidential and legislative elections set for November 7.

Henry came under scrutiny by Haiti’s now-former chief prosecutor, who asked a judge this month to charge the prime minister in President Jovenel Moïse’s July 7 assassination. The prosecutor said Henry spoke to a key suspect twice in the hours after the killing.

Henry — who says he is striving to bring the culprits to justice, fired the prosecutor and the justice minister last week. Another top official resigned, accusing the prime minister of trying to obstruct justice.

Meanwhile, confusion about US immigration policies and misinformation on social media propelled thousands of Haitians to the US southern border in recent months. A massive migrant camp — largely made up of Haitians, many of whom had been in Mexico or other Latin American countries for years — sprouted in the town of Del Rio, Texas, peaking last week at over 14,000 people hoping to gain entry to the US

Images of US border patrol agents using horses to block and move migrants sparked outrage, the resignation of the US special envoy to Haiti, and an ongoing investigation. President Joe Biden called the agents’ tactics “horrible,” “dangerous” and “wrong.”

The camp has now been cleared. Some people have been deported; about 12,400 migrants have been allowed into the US, at least temporarily, to pursue their claims to stay, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.