Images of U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback chasing Haitian migrants along the Rio Grande are “horrific,” the White House says.
The migrants were attempting to return to a camp near the Del Rio International Bridge, where thousands of migrants have gathered on the U.S. side of the border river. Many of them carried food they’d just bought in Mexico.
But when the migrants attempted to cross the river and return to the U.S. side of the border, agents used their horses to try to turn them back. The dramatic scene immediately sparked new questions about how a “nation of immigrants” treats people who are desperate for a better life.
US Department of Homeland Security said the Customs and Border Patrol’s Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating, adding that the agency’s inspector general has also been informed.
“The footage is extremely troubling and the facts learned from the full investigation, which will be conducted swiftly, will define the appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken,” DHS said.
