In shift, DHS head says images from border ‘horrified’ him
WASHINGTON (AP) — Photos and video of a Border Patrol agent on horseback using his long leather reins to lash at Haitian migrants along the U.S.-Mexico border prompted outrage Tuesday from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who sought to explain away the action a day earlier during a visit to South Texas.
Mayorkas said he was “horrified” by the images that have spread widely on social media and drawn outrage from members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Some of the mounted agents use their horses to forcibly move and block the migrants, seeming to herd them like animals, and taunt them in at least one instance. “Any mistreatment or abuse of a migrant is unacceptable,” Mayorkas said in an interview with CNN. “The pictures that I’ve observed troubled me profoundly.”
Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the incident, DHS said in a statement issued late Monday. The announcement came hours after the secretary appeared alongside Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz to discuss U.S. efforts to clear an encampment of thousands of Haitian migrants in and around the small city of Del Rio that has emerged suddenly in recent days. Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters Tuesday that she would be discussing the situation with the DHS secretary. “What I saw depicted about those individuals on horseback treating human beings the way they were was horrible,” she said. “And I fully support what is happening right now, which is a thorough investigation into exactly what is going on there.”
The controversy added an additional complication to an already difficult situation for the Biden administration, which is facing criticism from many allies for quickly sending Haitians back to their troubled homeland under a public health order without giving them an opportunity to seek asylum in the United States.
The disturbing videos and photos were taken in recent days in and around Del Rio and show Border Patrol agents confronting Haitians along the Rio Grande near a border bridge where thousands of migrants have gathered in recent days in hopes of entering the country. Videos by The Associated Press and other news organization show one agent twirling his reins in a menacing way but not actually striking anyone.
Ortiz, asked about what some saw as the use of whips on Haitians, said the agents were working in a difficult and chaotic environment and trying to control their horses. “We do not know who are the smugglers or who are the migrants,” he told reporters, insisting that the agency was looking into what happened. Mayorkas then stepped in to explain that the agents weren’t using whips. “To ensure control of the horse, long reins are used, but we are going to investigate the facts to ensure that the situation is as we understand it to be, and if it’s anything different we will respond accordingly.”