A national law enforcement organization is attempting to hold President Joe Biden’s feet to the fire for wrongly accusing Border Patrol agents of “whipping” Haitian migrants last year.
The National Police Association — a nonprofit group that educates the public on how to support local, state, tribal, and federal police — filed a Freedom of Information Act request this week to expose the findings of the investigation the government launched into a September 2021 incident in Del Rio, Texas.
“This was something that was extremely public,” said NPA spokeswoman Betsy Brantner Smith. “And so the information about this case, and whatever the conclusion was, and whatever remedy the agents receive also, we believe needs to be very public so that people know.”
In a highly publicized incident in September that saw 20,000 Haitian migrants streaming across the Rio Grande from Mexico, mounted agents were photographed and filmed attempting to prevent people from walking across the river. The migrants ignored verbal orders to turn around, and the mounted agents rode along the riverbank as migrants tried to get by them.
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People on social media suggested some of the agents had whipped migrants. Before any investigation had been undertaken, top Biden administration officials condemned the federal law enforcement agents. Biden said people were “being strapped” in an “outrageous” way and vowed that “those people will pay.” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said he was “horrified” by the images before later admitting he reacted “without having seen the images” before commenting.
Mayorkas vowed before Congress last fall to conclude within “a matter of days, not weeks” if agents were too aggressive, but no conclusion has been publicly disclosed. DHS officials told the Washington Examiner they do not expect one to be shared because it could only vindicate the accused agents and embarrass the Biden administration.
The FOIA request was filed Tuesday and sent to the DHS. It asks for a half-dozen types of documents, including all records of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility investigation; any communications about the investigation by CBP and the DHS; and all texts, emails, and other communications between Mayorkas, DHS staff, the White House, and DHS Office of Inspector General about the incident.
“This whole situation needs to stay public, not just be pushed aside,” said Brantner Smith. “This is DHS, a very public organization. It is funded by taxpayer dollars. So taxpayers and citizens really deserve to know exactly what was happening and continues to happen.”
Ultimately, NPA wants to see the DHS issue a conclusion in its investigation and President Joe Biden apologize for speaking too soon and not calling for an investigation before “vilifying” the agents, she said.
The national police group opted to file a request for information rather than issuing a statement because it ought to spur a response from the government. Although NPA is not a police union, Bratner Smith said the Biden administration’s handling of it made it relevant to her organization because it gets at a bigger problem that law enforcement has faced in recent years.
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“A concern not just in this case, but nationally for American law enforcement, we appear to be losing our due process rights. And that’s incredibly concerning. So there’s a bigger element afoot here,” she said.
