Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is demanding an apology from President Joe Biden and Democrats for falsely accusing Border Patrol agents of “whipping” migrants.
Last year, Biden, several Democrats, and their allies in the media, falsely accused four horse-mounted Border Patrol agents of whipping Haitian migrants at the southern border.
“There’s no doubt this was political,” Paxton said.
“And it’s really unfortunate for these border agents who’ve given their lives to securing our border and defending Americans.
“And here they are being punished, they should be rewarded.
“They should be taken care of. Instead, their careers may be ruined, and they’ve been humiliated in front of the entire American public.
“And I just think it’s really wrong,” he said.
“I would expect instead that Joe Biden and some of these political leaders should come out and actually apologize to these guys for what they’ve been through.”
Texas AG Ken Paxton demands apology for mounted Border Patrol agents https://t.co/P5SoE51xYU pic.twitter.com/4bCuNMZy9g
— New York Post (@nypost) July 9, 2022
An investigation into the allegation cleared the agents of any wrongdoing.
Witnesses confirmed that no agents were seen carrying “whips” nor did they use any other objects to strike any migrants.
“As a result of a lack of command, control, and communications, Horse Patrol Unit personnel carried out an operation at the request of TXDPS which directly contravened U.S. Border Patrol operational objectives and resulted in the unnecessary use of force against migrants who were attempting to reenter the United States with food,” the investigation found.
The investigators’ report details confusion at the top, including sending conflicting orders to agents in the field.
From CNN:
During that time, there was about a 15-minute period when authorities tried to stop the flow of migrants, resulting in the confrontation between agents and migrants, senior CBP officials told reporters Friday.
Senior officials said an agent acted in an unprofessional manner by yelling comments and using profanity.
A horse patrol unit from another Border Patrol station in Texas had been deployed a day prior to assist, according to officials who said those agents had not worked together on horseback for some time.
The investigation found that the horse patrol unit on scene acted at the request of the Texas Department of Public Safety, which, findings show, was in conflict with the Border Patrol’s objectives.
The agents received approval from their supervisor, who did not get additional guidance from leadership.
The officials recognized Friday the unprecedented circumstances facing Border Patrol last September, noting that arrival of thousands of people in a remote area of the Texas-Mexico border posed operational challenges.
From The Hill:
Four Border Patrol agents will face disciplinary action following an incident last year in Del Rio, Texas, in which agents on horseback corralled Haitian migrants seeking to cross into the U.S.
A 511-page report from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Office of Professional Responsibility found “failures at multiple levels of the agency, a lack of appropriate policies and training, and unprofessional and dangerous behavior by several individual agents,” according to a CBP statement.
Images of the September incident went viral, drawing attention to the plight of some 15,000 Haitian migrants who had camped under a bridge near the U.S.-Mexico border.
The images showed officers chasing some migrants and raising questions about whether the agents whipped any migrants with the horses’ reins.
The report determined that agents did not strike “intentionally or otherwise, any migrant with their reins.”
Another win against Biden! In April, I filed my 11th border security suit. The Admin wanted to transfer to DC where their swamp could rig the game. After @America1stLegal & I pushed back, the judge handed Biden the loss, saying the case must stay in TX where it belongs. pic.twitter.com/XKKHtsQtBt
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) July 8, 2022
