Border Patrol agents feel they have been “thrown under the bus” by the Biden administration with its response to photos of them on horseback pursuing Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas, according to a top union official.
National Border Patrol Council Vice President Jon Anfinsen told Fox News this sentiment by agents extends across “all levels of management,” including Customs and Border Protection, the Homeland Security Department, and the White House.
PHOTOGRAPHER WHO SNAPPED BORDER AGENTS ON HORSEBACK SAYS IMAGES CAN BE ‘MISCONSTRUED‘
“No investigation has been completed, yet you’re hearing the president say these people will pay,” Anfinsen said.
This comes after Biden stated on Friday that the actions of the Border Patrol agents were “wrong” in response to the release of images and videos earlier in the week depicting agents on horseback chasing Haitian migrants.
“I promise you, those people will pay,” Biden said during a press conference at the White House. “There will be consequences. It’s an embarrassment. But beyond an embarrassment, it’s dangerous. It’s wrong.”
Within the past two weeks, Del Rio was overwhelmed with an influx of thousands of migrants living underneath an international bridge in a makeshift camp after crossing the Rio Grande, many of them Haitians seeking asylum in the United States. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced on Friday the Haitian migrants had been cleared from the encampment in Del Rio but conceded over the weekend that more than 12,000 migrants were released into the U.S.
Following the incident in Del Rio and allegations of whipping, DHS announced it would temporarily suspend the use of horse patrols.
“Those were reins, and no reins were used to whip anybody,” Anfinsen said. “Simple as that.”
Although there has been no reported documentation of officers using whips, Mayorkas said he was “horrified” by what he saw in the photos.
“I was horrified by what I saw. We will let the investigation run its course, but the pictures that I observed troubled me profoundly,” Mayorkas said in an interview with CNN, adding that the actions were “unacceptable.”
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DHS Sec. Mayorkas on troubling viral videos of Border Patrol being aggressive with Haitian migrants:
“One cannot weaponize a horse to aggressively attack a child. That is unacceptable. That is not what our policies and our training require … We will not tolerate mistreatment.” pic.twitter.com/fpkNrDv90w
— The Recount (@therecount) September 21, 2021
The U.S. has experienced a surge in migrant crossings at the southern border. According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, there were a reported 208,887 enforcement encounters in August.
