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Use of horses along border in Del Rio, Texas, suspended

By Callie Patteson

September 23, 2021 2:44pm

The use of horses by Border Patrol officials in Del Rio, Texas, has been suspended in the aftermath of images being shared that showed mounted Border Patrol agents using their horses to keep Haitian illegal immigrants from crossing into the US.

During Thursday’s daily press briefing, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed the policy change that came out of the investigation into the images, which she called “horrible and horrific.” 

“There was an investigation, which the president certainly supports, overseen by the Department of Homeland Security, which he has conveyed will happen quickly,” she said.

“I can also convey to you that the secretary also conveyed to civil rights earlier this morning that we would no longer be using horses in Del Rio. So that is something — a policy change that has been made in response.” 

The policy change comes days after the images first surfaced showing Border Patrol agents chasing and herding the illegal immigrants as they exit the Rio Grande river on the US side of the border, and some critics say the images appear to show the officers using their reins as “whips.”

 

One photo showed an agent leaning over his saddle to grab a man running into the US by the shirt. 

A United States Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas. PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images

Shortly after they surfaced, an investigation by the Department of Homeland Security was launched.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has made clear he hopes the investigation will be completed within “days” and not weeks. 

It is unclear what, if any, repercussions the Border Patrol agents involved will face at the end of the investigation. 

Part of the investigation process, Psaki said Thursday, will be figuring out what those could be. 

“I’m not going to get ahead of that process,” she said. “That’s why the process is in place and I’m sure once it’s completed, we’ll have more to say.”

While the investigation is ongoing, the agents involved have been placed on administrative duty and are no longer in direct contact with migrants at the border. 

It is unclear what, if any, repercussions the Border Patrol agents involved will face at the end of the investigation. AP Photo/Felix Marquez

Mayorkas slammed the images again on Wednesday, saying they “correctly and necessarily were met with our nation’s horror” while testifying before the House Homeland Security Committee on Capitol Hill.

“They do not reflect who we are as a country, nor do we think they reflect who the United States Customs and Border Protection is,” he said.

During Thursday’s briefing, Psaki also was pressed on whether or not US officials will be transferring migrants encountered at the southern border to Guantanamo Bay, following a report that the administration has opened a new contract to operate a migrant detention facility at the US naval base in Cuba. 

“We will not,” Psaki confirmed. “There’s never been a plan to do that, I think there was some confusion related to a Migrant Operation Center which is used — has been used for decades to process migrants interjected at sea for third country settlement.”

“This request for information that was sent out publicly yesterday, which I think caused some confusion because of the timing, was posted in a typical routine for staff and a contract renewal and unrelated to the southern border.” 

On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security revealed that more than 4,600 migrants who were gathered under a bridge in Del Rio have been removed. They did not specify how many have been released into the US, but said less than 5,000 remain at the bridge. 

Approximately 1,401 migrants have been deported to Haiti, while another 3,206 have either been processed for expulsion under the pandemic-related authority known as Title 42 or “placed into removal proceedings,” meaning they have been released with a notice to appear at an immigration office within 60 days.

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