These photos of border guards with whips raise uproar in US – The HuffPost

via Associated Press

UNITED STATES – Photos of border guards on horseback pushing back migrants near Del Rio, at Texas, aroused this Monday, September 20 a strong emotion in United States, where the president’s government Joe biden announced the opening of an investigation to shed light on the facts.

In a snapshot taken by a photographer employed by AFP, an agent on horseback grabs a man by his t-shirt. On another, he keeps a group at bay by turning his reins, in a threatening posture.

These images “of ill-treatment of Haitian migrants along the border are horrific and very disturbing,” said the elected Democrat Bennie Thompson, who chairs the Committee on Internal Security in the House of Representatives, in a statement.

“It’s horrible to watch,” admitted White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki during a press briefing. “I don’t know the context, but I don’t see in what framework that would be appropriate,” she added.

New York elected representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez denounced “the stain” that these images and immigration policy was on the country. “It doesn’t matter whether the president is Democrat or Republican, our immigration system is made to be cruel and take all humanity away from migrants.”

It doesn’t matter if a Democrat or Republican is President, our immigration system is designed for cruelty towards and dehumanization of immigrants.

Immigration should not be a crime, and its criminalization is a relatively recent invention. This is a stain on our country. https://t.co/PZKYN4WLyj

– Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 20, 2021

Equestrian patrols were deployed on Sunday near the Rio Grande River, where thousands of migrants, most of them Haitians, have been camping for several days in the hope of being admitted to the United States, the chief told reporters. border guards Raul Ortiz.

“I asked them to find out if individuals were in distress and to gather information on smugglers”, he added, stressing that “controlling a horse in a river is difficult”.

It seems that, in this context, some have used long reins, added the Minister of Internal Security Alejandro Mayorkas. “We will conduct an investigation to be sure that the situation is indeed this one, otherwise, we will act accordingly”, he assured.

Tense situation

The scene occurred as migrants were washing in the Rio Grande or crossing the river to collect food in Mexico and bring it back to their families on American soil, according to the author of the photos, Paul Ratje.

Suddenly five or six officers on horseback arrived and asked them to return to Mexico. “The situation was tense, and the migrants started running around them,” he reports. “One of the officers grabbed the man in the picture by the t-shirt. I don’t think he was hurt ”.

“I did not see any lashes, but the agents twirled their reins,” he said. The tension then eased, and border guards let these migrants join the makeshift camp. The influx of migrants to the border has turned into a crisis for the Biden administration.

In Del Rio, Alejandro Mayorkas claimed that Haitian migrants were receiving false information about the possibility of staying in the United States, also stating that the United States was speeding up its repatriation process to Haiti, considering such a return as safe for them.

“We reiterated that our borders are not open and people should not take such a dangerous journey,” the minister said. “If you come to the United States illegally, you will be sent back,” he added.

Alejandro Mayorkas also argued that it was reasonable to send these migrants back to Haiti, despite the political instability there, and the consequences of the earthquake that hit the southwest of the country on August 14.

See also on The HuffPost: Joe Biden questioned on the situation of thousands of migrants under a bridge on the border with Texas