Probe Underway for Border Agents Riding Horses While Chasing Haitian Migrants - DHS Says
A formal probe was launched by the U.S Customs and Border Protection Office for professional responsibility on Monday, for border agents who were riding horses that were seen chasing Haitian Migrants in Texas.
The announcement of the formal probe was made by a spokesperson from the U.S. Department of Homeland and Security (DHS) on Monday, saying that the said CBP office notified DHS' Office inspector general about the move.
The DHS said that the probe would "define the appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken." Furthermore, the department also confirmed that they dispatched additional personnel to supervise future border patrol operations on the make-shift encampment of Haitians in Del Rio, Texas.
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White House Press Secretary Horrified on Border Agents on Horses Chasing Haitians
The investigation from the CBP office stemmed out as border agents riding horses were photographed chasing Haitian migrants along the Texas borders.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki expressed her thought as she saw the photos, calling them "horrific."
In one photo, a border patrol agent leaned over his saddle to grab the shirt of a man trying to get away. Some photos also showed migrants carrying plastic bags and their possessions in their hands, USA Today reported.
A U.S. 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 on Sunday.
— NBC News (@NBCNews) September 20, 2021
📸 Paul Ratje / AFP via Getty pic.twitter.com/JTMDq6ITPn
"I can't imagine what context would make that [photos] appropriate," Psaki said. The White House press secretary furthered that even though she had no additional details about the photograph she saw, anyone who will see the pictures will think that what the border agents did was unacceptable or inappropriate.
When asked whether the border agents on horses should be fired, Psaki agreed, saying that the agents should not be able to chase migrants again.
Representative Ilhan Omar also blasted the border agents, as he took to Twitter his sentiments on Monday. He called the move human rights abuses. Omar went on and said that the issue surrounding the border agents on horses "needs a course correction and the issuance of a clear directive" on how to humanely process asylum seekers.
These are human rights abuses, plain and simple.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) September 20, 2021
Cruel, inhumane, and a violation of domestic and international law. This needs a course correction and the issuance of a clear directive on how to humanely process asylums seekers at our border. https://t.co/tdDN70Hz1z
The representative quoted his statement with a video of border agents on horses along a river trying to keep the migrants from going into the land.
DHS Secretary Says U.S. Borders 'Not Open'
Jen Psaki's comments on the border agents came as DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a press conference on Monday that U.S. borders are not open, as thousands of Haitian migrants gather in a makeshift encampment in Texas.
Mayorkas underscored that they were concerned that Haitians who take the "irregular migration path" might have received false information that the U.S. borders were open and temporary protected status is available.
"That is false information," Mayorkas said, adding that they have reiterated and urged people not to engage in a "dangerous journey" into the U.S.
To date, more than 15,000 migrants, predominantly composed of Haitians, flooded Del Rio, Texas, in two weeks.
"If you come to the United States illegally, you will be returned," Mayorkas pointed out, adding that the migrant's journey will not succeed and only endanger their lives and those of their families.
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written By: Joshua Summers
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