President Joe Biden made inflammatory statements about Border Patrol agents “strapping” illegal aliens at the Texas border and promised consequences. One big problem: it never happened. But, administration officials have not apologized and continue to investigate the incident.
Fox News Reporter Peter Doocy pressed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas about President Biden’s inflammatory language during a White House press conference yesterday. “[B]efore the facts are in, is it helpful to your investigation for the President of the United States to use inflammatory language, like people being ‘strapped?’,” Doocy asked Secretary Mayorkas.
“Let me just be very clear and repeat what I’ve said: I am not concerned with respect to the integrity of the investigation,” responded Mayorkas. “We know how to conduct an investigation with integrity.”
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The Homeland Security Secretary was referring to an investigation launched after photos of mounted Border Patrol agents last weekend were misconstrued. Many people rushed to judgement after seeing photos of a border enforcement action. They accused border agents of whipping illegal aliens from Haiti as they crossed the Rio Grande River that separates America and Mexico.
Texas photographer Paul Ratje photographed mounted agents containing a rush of Haitians from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. His photos went viral because many people who may not be familiar with horse riding saw long reins moving and believed they saw a whipping. Ratje has since told many news outlets, including NBC’s El Paso, Texas affiliate KTSM, that he did not witness anyone being whipped.
In a White House conference yesterday, President Biden talked like Ratje and an Associated Press video of the encounter didn’t contradict stories of whipping at the border.
“It’s horrible what you saw; to see people like they did, with horses running them over, people being strapped, it’s outrageous,” Biden said. “I promise you, those people will pay. There is an investigation underway right now and there will be consequences.”
Doocy asked about Biden’s claim the photos showed illegal aliens being “strapped.” Mayorkas acknowledged that the horses had long reins. Even though he didn’t say the agents didn’t whip anyone, Mayorkas said the photos raised serious concerns that need investigation because, “… it conjured up images of what has occurred in the past.” He seemed to echo a statement Vice President Kamala Harris made during a taping of the daytime TV show, The View.
“As we all know, it evoked images of some of the worst moments of our history where that kind of behavior has been used against the indigenous people of our country, has been used against African Americans during times of slavery,” Harris said.
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