US stops using horses in border ops after outcry

Washington – The US Border Patrol halted using horses in migrant operations around Del Rio, Texas, the White House said this week, after embarrassing photographs suggested mistreatment of Haitian border-crossers.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas “conveyed to civil rights leaders that we would no longer be using horses in Del Rio,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.

The move came after photographs and video footage on Monday showed Border Patrol horsemen appearing to use their mounts to deter undocumented migrants from crossing into the United States from Mexico. –