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On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at a press briefing that the Biden administration is preventing Border Patrol agents from using horses in the Del Rio sector amid Democratic outrage over images that lawmakers falsely claimed showed agents using “whips” to stop Haitian migrants getting into the US. The images involve a Border Patrol agent grabbing one of the migrant’s shirts, are “horrible and horrific” and pointed that an investigation is ongoing. Psaki said, “I can also convey to you that DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also conveyed to civil rights leaders earlier this morning that we would no longer be using horses in Del Rio”. A DHS spokesperson also issued a statement and said, “We have ceased the use of the horse patrol in Del Rio temporarily. We’ll prioritize other methods for identifying individuals who might be in medical distress”.

However, the revelation comes on the 4^th day of controversy related to the false claims that agents used “whips” against Haitian migrants on Sunday. A claim was initially debunked by Mayorkas and Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz on Monday. They said that agents were wielding long reins to control their horses in difficult riverine. Other Border Patrol sources have pointed out that agents will spin or twirl their reins in order to move the horse forward as a signal to the horse. So far, no images have been presented of migrants being hit by the reins. Mayorkas said, “I was horrified by what I saw. I’m going to let the investigation run its course. But the pictures that I observed troubled me profoundly. That defies all of the values that we seek to instill in our people”.

The US Vice President Kamala Harris said on Tuesday that she supported an investigation and was “deeply troubled” by the allegations. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer decried images of inhumane treatment of Haitian migrants by Border Patrol including the use of whips. The narrative that the agents used “whips” has continued to gather steam among activists and left-wing Democrats. They have then infused a racial narrative into the mix, given that the Haitians are Black. Rep. Maxine Waters said, “What we witnessed takes us back hundreds of years. What we witnessed was worse than what we witnessed in slavery, cowboys with their reins, again, whipping black people”. One of the CBP agents said, “It will make patrolling extremely difficult along with security. This is insane. The agents did nothing wrong”.