The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Border agents on horseback did not beat migrants in Del Rio but acted inappropriately and dangerously

2022-07-08T18:07:28.729Z


The White House described as "horrible" the photos in which officers seemed to use their reins like whips to repel a crowd of undocumented Haitians along the Rio Grande.


The images of Border Patrol agents on horseback and with what looked like whips trying to block the passage of Haitian migrants at the Del Río Texas border caused public repudiation last September and led the Joe Biden government to promise an internal investigation. , whose result was known this Friday.

Ten months later, the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP, in English) published a report of more than 500 pages in which it concludes that there is no evidence that any migrant was beaten by the agents, who carried reins in their hands to horses.

The officers investigated were from both the Border Patrol and the Texas Department of Public Safety and were placed on administrative leave at the start of the investigation.

The report concludes, however, that the agents used excessive and inappropriate force to repel the migrants, even though they did not pose a threat to them, and without proper orders from their superiors to do so.

The report found "failures at multiple levels of the agency," a lack of adequate policies and training, and unprofessional behavior and dangers by several agents." CBP Director Chris Magnus pointed out at a press conference on Friday that there is another criminal investigation besides the administrative one.

That September 19 there were up to 15,000 migrants crammed into the De Rio international bridge;

Immigration authorities ended up deporting most Haitians to the island, but, according to the report, for 30 minutes there was an unprecedented challenge for border agents and Texan authorities.

A Border Patrol agent stops a migrant on the banks of the Rio Grande River on September 19, 2021. Paul Ratje / Getty Images

A large group of migrants gathered near the Rio Grande River, about a mile east of the Del Rio Port of Entry.

The agents dispersed them back to the camp they had set up under the international bridge on the US side of the border, chasing them on horseback;

An image taken by journalists showed how an officer grabbed a migrant by the shirt and turned him by force, sparking controversy.

Horrible images, according to the White House

The White House called the photos "horrible": "I don't think anyone thinks that's acceptable," said then-White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.

"Any mistreatment or abuse of a migrant is unacceptable

," said Alejandro Mayorka, Secretary of National Security, "the images deeply concern me." He thus promised an exhaustive investigation and measures "with full force."

The investigation, however, has found no evidence that any Border Patrol agent deliberately or unintentionally hit the migrants with the reins of their horses.

Migrants confront the Mexican National Guard with stones and sticks in Tapachula

Feb. 22, 202200:21

A group of Haitian migrants filed a lawsuit in December 2021 accusing the government of physical and verbal abuse, inhuman treatment, and denial of due process for alleged mistreatment.

An investigation by Noticias Telemundo concluded that the Border Patrol has reinforced its arsenal of non-lethal weapons in recent years;

its officers have been accused of excessive use of force and abuse by organizations such as Amnesty International and the ACLU.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2022-07-08

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-23T00:33:31.698Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.