Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday commented on the videos and images showing horse-mounted border patrol agents chasing Haitian migrants along the Rio Grande in Texas.

Harris said: "What I saw depicted, those individuals on horseback treating human beings the way they were, was horrible." The vice president noted that human beings should never be treated that way, and "I'm deeply troubled about it."

Aside from the vice president, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer also voiced his concerns. The Democratic senator said the behavior of the horse-mounted border agents must be addressed.

He noted that the images of Haitian migrants being "hit with whips and other forms of physical violence" are "completely unacceptable." Schumer said the images "turn your stomach," adding that this kind of violence must be stopped.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also expressed his concerns, saying that the photos troubled him "profoundly."

A DHS spokesperson earlier confirmed that the Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility has launched a formal investigation into the matter.

The DHS has also dispatched additional personnel to oversee future border patrol operations in the makeshift encampment of Haitians in Del Rio, Texas.

READ NEXT: President Biden to Increase Refugee Cap to 125K Amid Border Surge

Photographer Says Haitian Migrants Were 'Scared' of Border Agents on Horses

As Harris, Schumer, and Mayorkas gave their viewpoints on the images that showed border agents on horses, the photographer of the said images also expressed his perspective on the issue.

Photographer Paul Ratje told NPR that he thought the migrants "were quite scared," and there was "probably some panic" that made the Haitians ran around the horses.

"The [border] agents tried to block them, and one agent grabbed a man by his shirt and kind of swung them around," Ratje said. Despite sharing what he witnessed, Ratje pointed out that he had no idea what prompted the border agent to mistreat the said migrant.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki also called the images "horrific." Representative Veronica Escobar also said that nothing would justify the violence against the migrants in Del Rio.

Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer on Ramped Up Deportations of Haitian Migrants

Kamala Harris and Chuck Schumer also voiced their opinions on deporting the Haitian migrants back to their country.

Kamala Harris said the U.S. must support "some very basic needs that the people of Haiti have" as a "member of the western hemisphere."

The vice president went on to say that Haiti experienced "so much tragedy" like natural disasters and the assassination of its president.

Meanwhile, Chuck Schumer urged President Joe Biden and Mayorkas to immediately stop mass deportations and end Title 42 policy at the southern border, arguing that such a decision defies "common sense" and "common decency." 

"We cannot continue these hateful and xenophobic Trump policies that disregard our refugee laws. We must allow asylum seekers to present their claims at our ports of entry, and be afforded due process [in the U.S]," Schumer noted.

READ MORE: Federal Judge Bars Biden Administration from Using a Trump-Era Policy in Expelling Migrant Families

This article is owned by Latin Post

Written by: Joshua Summers

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