Joe Biden vows horseback agents ‘will pay’ for treatment of Haitian migrants
- The US president promised an investigation and ‘consequences’ after images of mounted agents waving their reins and charging migrants drew widespread outrage
- The encampment Del Rio, Texas, that was packed with thousands of migrants had been emptied by Friday
“It’s outrageous. I promise you those people will pay. They will be investigated. There will be consequences,” Biden said in response to a reporter’s question at the White House.
The remarks, which came after Biden talked about the roll-out of booster shoots for those most at risk for the coronavirus, were his first extended comments about the issue since the images emerged.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is already conducting an investigation that he has said will be completed by next week.
The administration has also temporarily suspended horse patrols in Del Rio.
Biden said that, as president, he takes responsibility for what happened. But he called it “horrible” to see.
“It’s dangerous. It’s wrong. It sends the wrong message around the world and sends the wrong message at home,” Biden said. “It’s simple not who we are.”
Photos and video showed mounted border patrol agents waving reins in the air and charging migrants as they carried scant belongings across the Rio Grande.
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US expels thousands of Haitian migrants from Texas town on Mexico border
Biden condemned the images as flights continued to repatriate migrants.
The Del Rio encampment had been emptied of thousands of Haitian migrants by Friday, with most remaining in the US for now and others deported by plane or returned to Mexico.
Witnesses said the shanty town-like jumble of makeshift shelters and tents had all but disappeared, with workers clearing the last debris from the banks of the Rio Grande bordering Mexico. Texas State Troopers lined the river bank to discourage new crossings.
Biden has faced bipartisan blowback over the administration’s handling of a surge of Haitian migrants at the southern border.
US envoy quits over ‘inhumane’ expulsion of Haitians from Texas camp
Democratic congresswoman Maxine Waters said the images of horseback patrols pursuing Haitians were comparable to the nation’s treatment of slaves.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday called on Biden to halt the use of Trump-era policies which he described as “hateful and xenophobic”. “We must allow asylum seekers to present their claims at our ports of entry and be afforded due process,” he said earlier this week.
Biden has used a public health policy put in place by his predecessor known as Title 42, which allows Customs and Border Protection officials to expel undocumented migrants to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
A federal judge struck down the public health rule last week but the Biden administration has appealed the ruling as it continues to use it to curb a record number of migrants showing up at the southern border this year.
Additional reporting by Reuters
