NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!
The head of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Friday said there was “no evidence” that Border Patrol hit Haitian migrants with their bridles or used whips in Del Rio, Texas last year, implicitly refuting a false claim made by President Biden and other top Democrats — even as the agency recommended punishing agents for violations such as “offensive” language and unnecessary force.
“[DHS’ Office of Professional Responsibility] found no evidence that the Border Patrol agents involved in this incident struck anyone with their reins, intentionally or otherwise,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said at a news conference, where he also said the agents were not wearing whips.
The agents have been under investigation since Sept. 20, a day after agents on horseback tackled migrants coming across the river in Del Rio. The incident made headlines because reporters and lawmakers saw the reins the agents were using and mistook them for whips. That claim was quickly debunked, but repeated by the president days later.
“To see people being treated the way they are, horses barely run over, people strapped on — it’s outrageous,” Biden told reporters, making a wave of his hand. “I promise you, these people will pay. Now there will be an investigation and there will be consequences. There will be consequences.”
BORDER PATROL AGENTS WAKE UP AS DHS PREPARS TO PUNISH OFFICERS CAUGHT IN ‘WHIP’ DISPUTE: ‘BULL—-‘
Although the main complaint against the agents was found to be false, the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility found numerous violations, but ones that fell far short of Biden’s claim that migrants were being whipped. Magnus said an agent was found to have used “degrading and abusive” language against migrants in terms of national origin and gender and was accused of maneuvering a horse around a child in an “unsafe manner”.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers on horseback try to detain migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuña, Mexico, to Del Rio, Texas, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
The report also accused agents of using an “unmoderated” tactical radio, not having enough training on the situation and of “unnecessarily using force” to push migrants back.
Magnus did not say what the recommended punishment for the agents would be. But multiple federal sources told Fox News that CBP’s proposals include a suspension of up to 14 days for the agents who were on horseback when they were involved in the incident. Magnus claimed the report showed “failures to make good decisions at many levels”.
The controversy began when agents were sent to deal with the Haitian migrant crisis near a river in Del Rio last September, where more than 10,000 migrants were camped under a bridge.
When the migrants tried to enter the US across the river, agents stopped them. Images soon circulated on Twitter of agents trying to block migrants from entering the US, and in one case grabbing a migrant’s shirt.
However, the images sparked a firestorm when media and Democratic lawmakers misidentified the agents’ split leads they use and twirl to control and direct the horse — and falsely claimed the agents were using “whips” against the migrants.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., condemned what she described as the “inappropriate use” of what appeared to be “whips by Border Patrol agents.” (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned what she described as the “inappropriate use of what appears to be whips by Border Patrol agents on horseback to intimidate migrants.” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned “the Border Patrol’s depictions of inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants — including the use of whips.”
However, the photographer who took the photos said he did not see anyone being whipped. But that didn’t stop both Vice President Harris and President Biden from promoting the claims — which infuriated Border Patrol agents, who bristled at the false claims and what they say influenced the investigation.
CBP PROPOSES DISCIPLINE FOR TEXAS AGENTS ACCUSED OF ‘WHIPPING’ HAITANI MIGRANTS
“The moment he made that statement, the moment he said these agents would pay, the moment he convicted these agents without any evidence, without any investigation, there could be no doubt in the mind of nobody that these investigators are going to come back with anything like an indictment against the agents,” National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told Fox News Digital in June. “They had no choice.”
“The president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, said they would pay and now they are paying,” he said.
DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas initially backed the agents, noting the use of the horse control leads, but soon changed his stance, calling the images shocking and launching an investigation. The agents were transferred to duty and have remained there ever since.
Mayorkas promised the investigation would take “days, not weeks,” but the investigation dragged on for months. The Office of Inspector General did not recommend criminal charges and the matter was referred to the Office of Professional Responsibility to seek administrative charges. On Friday, Magnus lamented how long the investigation had taken.
On Friday, Republicans blasted CBP’s findings, with Congressman John Katko, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, calling them “nothing more than a desperate attempt by the Biden administration to justify its initial knee-jerk rush to judge that these agents of the Border Patrol were guilty of criminal conduct.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
So they set out on a mission to save face and make an example of these Border Patrol agents who were just trying to manage the unsustainable humanitarian and security crisis handed to them by President Biden,” he said. “As part of her acquittal, that deficient report from DHS cited the negative impact the “significant media attention” had on the department as justification for the punishment. Let’s be clear: The negative media attention, much of which was prompted by statements coming from people within the Biden administration itself, is no excuse for defaming these agents who have dedicated their lives to serving this nation’s homeland security.”
“These agents were cleared of any criminal wrongdoing by the DHS Office of Inspector General months ago and [OPR] through investigations,” he said. “Border Patrol agents are leaving in record numbers and experiencing devastating mental health impacts as a result of the Biden border crisis. This is not what they signed up for. Our border patrol agents deserve better than this. Period.”
Adam Shaw is a political reporter for Fox News Digital, with a focus on immigration. You can find him at adam.shaw2@fox.com or on Twitter: @AdamShawNY
Add Comment