Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was made aware the horseback Border Patrol agents in the Del Rio Sector did not whip illegal immigrants prior to making an appearance at a White House press briefing where he continued to slander their actions.
The Heritage Foundation's Oversight Project sued the Department of Homeland Security for any communications regarding the incident. After suing DHS for not initially turning over the documents, it was discovered Mayorkas was emailed an article confirming Border Patrol agents did not whip anyone two and half hours before a White House press briefing on September 24, 2021. Despite being sent the email, Mayorkas did not defend the agents in question and instead called the misleading pictures "horrifying."
NEW: Email reveals DHS Secretary Mayorkas was alerted by DHS' top public affairs official that the "whipping" narrative behind horseback BP photos wasn't true, but at a WH press conference 2.5 hours later, he didn't refute that narrative, instead calling the images "horrifying". pic.twitter.com/Qyfy2NBkNo
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 12, 2022
DHS did not respond to Fox News before their story was published.
Also worth pointing out, I reached out to DHS on Monday and gave them two full days to respond to this story. I followed up with them again this morning before we went on the air, and I still have received no response whatsoever.
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 12, 2022
A Biden official at DHS actually tried to prevent the Secretary from saying this. Mayorkas chose not to set the record straight when he was in the best position to — at the White House.
— Anna Giaritelli (@Anna_Giaritelli) October 12, 2022
He allowed disinformation to be disseminated.
He allowed US Border Patrol to be slandered. https://t.co/TV80QLbOrf
"Resign now [Mayorkas]! You are not fit to lead Border Patrol agents. You are not fit to lead anyone. You lack integrity, courage and honesty. The Biden Admin sold out BP agents the day they took office to push their open border agenda. It's disgraceful," the National Border Patrol Council tweeted in reaction to the revelation.
The incident sparked a nationwide outrage among Democrats and progressives over the misleading claims, given Border Patrol agents are not issued whips in the first place. A federal investigation confirmed no whipping took place.
