The White House and the Department of Homeland Security announced on Thursday Border Patrol's horse unit will no longer be operating in Del Rio, Texas after they were falsely accused of using whips against Haitians who were illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
The agents at the center of the "scandal" have been placed on administrative duties while an investigation is underway.
Border authorities have suspended use of horse patrol units in the Del Rio camp, DHS officials told reporters on a briefing call.
— Nick Miroff (@NickMiroff) September 23, 2021
4,050 migrants remain in camp, and one DHS official said "thousands" have returned to Mexico.
No breakdown avail of # released vs returned to Haiti.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Congress yesterday the investigation should conclude next week and that he expects to make the findings public.
— Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) September 23, 2021
The Border Patrol agents at the center of the probe are on administrative duties and not allowed to interact with migrants.
PSAKI: Horses will no longer be used in Del Rio, Texas pic.twitter.com/P9XNqcXl7Q
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 23, 2021
Misleading photos of agents on horseback attempting to prevent people from illegally crossing into the United States caused outrage after the reins, used to control the horses, were falsely called whips by members of the media and Democrats.
A source within Border Patrol previously explained to Townhall what people got wrong about the incident:
"Agents use their reins for a lot of reasons. Primarily it's used to steer the horse, but agents will also spin them sometimes to deter people from getting too close to the horse. If they get too close, the horse can step on them, breaking bones or causing other injuries. Agents also need to maintain control of their reins so they don't lose control of the horse, which can cause injuries to immigrants, the agents, and the horses."We are not aware of anyone being struck with the reins."
Jon Anfinsen, president of the Border Patrol's Local 2366 in Del Rio, told Townhall it is detrimental for border security to suspend the whole unit, even if it's just for short amount of time:
"We are told that the horse patrol unit has been suspended from operating in Del Rio Sector only during the remainder of the crisis under the bridge. The horse patrol unit is an effective means of apprehending immigrants who illegally cross our borders every day, along with searching for those who are sick or injured and stranded in the brush.
"Suspending them all for even a brief amount of time takes away one of the few remaining units that have been in the field making arrests and rescues on a regular basis. When the rest of our agents are indoors processing, unable to make arrests and rescues of their own, we should be using all the resources we have to patrol the border."