(Republican Leader) – A report from Fox News has revealed that more than two dozen House Republicans are now calling for a briefing to be held concerning moves being made by the Department of Homeland Security to discipline multiple Border Patrol agents who have been accused of whipping Haitian migrants last year while riding horseback.
“Disciplining the agents would be an insult to the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol who work each day to protect our nation in spite of the policies being implemented by the Biden administration,” the letter, written by 26 House Republicans, led by Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., read.
“Fox News reported Tuesday that DHS is preparing to discipline ‘multiple’ horseback Border Patrol agents involved in the incident at the U.S.-Mexico border back in September, where some Democrats and immigration activists incorrectly believed they saw agents whipping Haitian migrants,” the report continued.
A federal source then spoke with Fox News and stated that an announcement on the matter should be coming in a matter of days. The individuals involved in the incident are expected to be hit with “administrative violations” instead of criminal conduct, something that was officially ruled out by the DHS Office of Inspector General last year.
Fox was also told that DHS will be putting forward proposals for discipline to the agents, and the agents will then be given a chance to respond to the decision by either accepting it or fighting it.
“The controversy began when images circulated on Twitter of the agents in Del Rio trying to block migrants from entering the U.S., and in one case grabbing a migrants’ shirt. The controversy escalated as some media outlets and Democratic lawmakers misidentified the agents’ split reins, which they use and twirl to control and direct the horse — and falsely claimed the agents were using ‘whips’ on the migrants,” the report from Fox stated.
“Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas initially backed the agents, but later changed his message, saying that the images ‘troubled me profoundly’ and adding that ‘one cannot weaponize a horse’ against migrants. Mayorkas announced that horses would no longer be used in Del Rio, and the agents were shifted to desk duty pending an investigation into their conduct. He would go on to promise that the investigation would be ‘completed in days, if not weeks,'” the report added.
Vice President Kamala Harris and President Joe Biden both weighed in on the whole situation, obviously siding against the agents. Big shock, right? Biden ended up increasing pressure applied to the agents by repeating false claims about immigrants being whipped.
“To see people treated like they did, horses barely running over, people being strapped – it’s outrageous,” Biden went on to say to reporters, making a whipping motion with his hand.
“I promise you, those people will pay,” he stated, speaking of the agents. “There will be an investigation underway now and there will be consequences. There will be consequences.”
The House Republicans stated they believe the president “sent the message that they must be punished, regardless of the fact that they did nothing wrong” and have blamed Mayorkas for failing to follow through on his pledge that the investigation into the matter would be completed promptly.
“Your failure to follow through on that promise has upended the lives of the agents involved and harmed their reputations,” they stated.
“The lawmakers tie the alleged harshness with how the Border Patrol agents are being treated with the policies at the border: ‘Instead of disciplining Border Patrol agents who were working to secure our border you should be working to faithfully enforce the law and secure our border,'” the report from Fox said.
“Punishing Border Patrol agents for trying to secure the border sends the message to all DHS employees that they will be punished for doing their jobs,” the lawmakers wrote. “Instead of punishing the agents, you should be celebrating them.”
The House Republicans have requested a briefing to be held by June 24.
Copyright 2022. RepublicanLeader.com
