[ad_1]
The Border Patrol’s Mounted Patrol Unit in Del Rio, Texas is “alive and well,” operating daily despite a White House claim that officers on horseback were removed from their saddles as a result of false allegations of abuse, two officials told the Washington Examiner.
Border patrol chief Raul Ortiz told federal law enforcement officials this week that officers assigned to the equestrian unit in the Del Rio area “were still operating despite the alleged ban imposed by the authorities. Biden officials, ”according to a senior US border official.
“The only change that was made was that they were taken out of the job on the river. No horse patrol in any area has been dissolved. They are still very much alive in Del Rio, working only in non-river areas, ”the person said.
DEMOCRATS COULD START CONFIRMATION FOR CBP COMMISSIONER AFTER EIGHT MONTHS WITHOUT LEADER
The use of horses comes a week after White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters mounted patrol officers were removed from duty after footage of officers meeting migrants Haitians on the banks of the Rio Grande in Del Rio had surfaced a week earlier.
“I can also tell you that [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] earlier this morning, we let civil rights officials know that we would no longer be using horses in Del Rio, ”Psaki said on September 23.
Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency that oversees border patrol, opened an investigation in mid-September after footage of officers chasing migrants on horseback led to false speculation they flogged border residents .
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers attempt to contain the migrants as they cross the Rio Grande from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, to Del Rio, Texas on Sunday, September 19, 2021. Critics have was fueled by images that went viral this week of Border Patrol agents on horseback using aggressive tactics against migrants. (AP Photo / Felix Marquez) Felix Marquez / AP
President Joe Biden asserted that the people “were tied” in a “scandalous” way and swore that “these people will pay.” Mayorkas said he was “horrified” by the footage but has since admitted to reacting “without seeing the footage” before commenting on the media.
The Border Patrol Union and former DHS officials in the Trump administration are skeptical that CBP’s investigation into the case could be fair given that senior DHS and CBP investigators have called it abuse before an investigation is undertaken.
Border Patrol’s horse patrol program officers are tasked with working in “difficult terrain, sensitive geographies protected by the environment and owned by individuals.”
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Horse patrol is the most viable and in some cases the only option for the US border patrol to enter areas inaccessible by any other means of patrolling, such as 4×4 vehicles or all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). . Without the horse patrol, these areas would remain unsupervised and vulnerable to transnational criminal activity, ”the CBP website says.
CBP did not respond to a request for comment.
Washington Examiner Videos
Key words: News, border patrol, Haiti, Texas
Original author: Anna giaritelli
Original location: ‘Alive’ border patrol horse unit in Del Rio despite Psaki request for suspension
[ad_2]
Source link