Representative Ilhan Omar says video of mounted border patrol agents whipping Haitian migrants a “human rights violation”

• Video footage showed border patrols cracking whips at Haitian migrants near the US-Mexico border.

• Thousands of Haitian migrants have sought entry to the United States as their country faces rampant poverty and violence in addition to political turmoil.

• The Haitian president was assassinated in July and an earthquake claimed more than 2,000 lives in the country last month.

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Democratic Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota said Monday that video footage of border patrol officers on horseback whipping Haitian migrants attempting to cross the US-Mexico border showed “human rights violations.”

“These are human rights violations, outright. Cruel, inhumane and a violation of national and international law,” Omar said in a tweet. “This requires a course correction and the publication of a clear directive on how to treat asylum seekers humanely at our border.”

The incident happened over the weekend near Del Rio, Texas, as Haitian migrants sought to ford the Rio Grande. Video footage from Al Jazeera showed officers on horseback using their reins as whips as they charge the migrants and seek to repel them, with one officer shouting, “This is why your country is shit, because you use your wives for that. “

U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Many have fled Haiti, which has faced a myriad of challenges for years in recent months as the besieged country grapples with ongoing violence, poverty and political conflict.

Haiti has had a particularly chaotic year due to political unrest sparked by the July assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which was closely followed by a devastating earthquake in August that left more than 2,000 dead.

Thousands of migrants gathered in a makeshift camp under a bridge in Del Rio.

Internal security chief Alejandro Mayorkas visited Del Rio on Monday as local and federal officials moved to deport or move migrants to detention centers.

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“We have seen a large influx of Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas. But we are increasing our resources and @DHSgov takes a multi-pronged approach in this regard ”, Mayorkas said in Sunday tweets. “We have increased by about 600 agents so that we can have full control. We are moving people quickly to other processing centers to ensure safety and security.”

“We sent a very clear message from the start, considering that we are in the middle of a pandemic, the border is not open and people should not be making the perilous journey here,” added Mayorkas.

Deportation flights to Haiti began on Sunday.

Border patrol chief Raul Ortiz at a press conference on Sunday said 3,300 migrants had been moved in recent days.

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