The president of the Border Patrol union chapter in the Del Rio sector slammed the Biden administration after reports indicating they found wrongdoing by the agents accused of “whipping” migrants in an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“From the beginning, they had been convicted by the White House and DHS, so we figured something was coming,” National Border Patrol Council President for the Del Rio border sector Jon Anfinsen told TheDCNF.
The charges will be for “administrative violations” rather than criminal misconduct, according to Fox News, for the September incident in Del Rio, Texas, in which agents responded to thousands of Haitian migrants that arrived under the international bridge.
US Border Patrol agents try to stop Haitian migrants entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas.
US says it will ramp up deportation flights for migrants flooding into Del Rio as authorities scramble to alleviate a burgeoning crisis
📸Paul Ratje pic.twitter.com/m39J1yAzRq
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) September 20, 2021
Horseback Border Patrol agents were seen in images appearing to use the reins of their horses to steer and encircle the migrants to get them to turn back. That was what some perceived as whipping. (RELATED: Horseback Border Patrol Agents Accused Of Whipping Migrants With Reins Reassigned To Desk Duties)
Following the incident, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the investigation would conclude in “days, if not weeks,” which Anfinsen called “a joke.”
“But for them to claim that it was going to be resolved in days and weeks was, frankly, a joke from the beginning to decide if these guys had done something wrong, despite no investigation having been done. So they’re trying to save face and propose some kind of discipline just so they can justify their claims from day one,” Anfinsen said.
The agents had been reassigned to desk duties, and per the last DHS update in November the Inspector General had declined to conduct the investigation and it was handed over to CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), nor Customs and Border Protection (CBP) responded to TheDCNF’s requests for comment.
The White House also didn’t respond.
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