Four Border Patrol Agents Will Face Disciplinary Proceedings After Mistreatment of Haitian Immigrants in Texas

Four agents of the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP, for its acronym in English) will face a disciplinary process for the actions they took to control a group of Haitian immigrants who had crossed into the United States. The images, captured in mid-September 2021, went around the world and caused great outrage just when the government of President Joe Biden was trying to convince the community that it had taken a turn from the xenophobic immigration policy of Donald Trump. The Administration published this Friday an external report on the events of that day. He acknowledges the excessive force used against Caribbean immigrants, but denies that they were beaten with reins by the patrol’s horsemen or forced to return to Mexico.

The report supports that the events created “unprecedented logistical, legal, and humanitarian challenges that strained CBP’s resources and capabilities.” Composed of more than 500 pages, the document is prepared with interviews with CBP agents and commanders, elements of the Texas Department of Public Safety, agents who rode horses during the operation and the review of hundreds of images that were captured by journalists. in the zone. Part of the investigation focused on many aerial photographs to determine the exact location of the incident, whether it had occurred on US or Mexican soil.

More than 15,000 immigrants from Haiti had arrived in the United States from Mexico throughout September 2021. These had been concentrated under a bridge that connects both countries in the town of Del Río, a point that has become the main crossing point into northeastern Mexico. Immigration authorities tried to order the process by giving Caribbean people tickets of different colors and numbers that determined the place in line in the processing of their cases. “Due to a lack of resources and extreme heat, the Border Patrol decided to allow migrants to come and go through the Rio Grande at their convenience to obtain food, water and other necessities,” explains the Office of Professional Responsibilities, in charge of the report authorship.

Despite this, those responsible for surveillance decided to reinforce the presence by calling in new elements. On September 18, agents who were assigned to the Carrizo Springs area arrived. These belonged to the equestrian force. The document, however, emphasizes that they had not carried out any patrol on horseback “in several months” because they had been busy with other tasks.

At noon on Sunday, September 19, elements of the Texas State Police who were guarding a point on the border asked for support to “disperse” a large number of migrants and prevent others from crossing from Mexico. “Within 10 to 15 minutes, personnel were able to push most of the crowd gathered around a boat ramp toward the Del Rio Port of Entry,” the document states.

The federal agents used their radio to ask their superiors for permission with what the Texans were asking for, to stop the passage of Haitians from Mexico. There was no response, so the leader on the ground gave the green light to help with the task. That decision caused a 30-minute chaos that was captured by the press and became an international scandal.

Mounted on several horses, the agents walked along the riverbank preventing the Haitians from leaving the river. The document states that the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty, signed in 1848, establishes that the division of Mexico and the United States is at the deepest point of the body of water, which means that the immigrants, who were already in the United States, never left to be.

“At least two members of the Carrizo Springs Equestrian Force used their horses to forcibly block migrants who wanted to get out of the river and chased others who had managed to get out of it, including one who was grabbed by the shirt and punched. laps,” the report says. The agents told those responsible for the internal investigations that during the pursuit they realized that many of the Haitians had the tickets that the immigration authorities had given them.

The investigation confirms that one of the patrol agents acted in an “unprofessional” manner by yelling racist things at a migrant. “Hears! Do you use women? That is why your country is shit, they use women for this,” said the agent, who has not been identified. This same uniformed man used his horse to maneuver dangerously with a small child.

“On multiple occasions, Border Patrol used force or the threat of force to push migrants into the river despite the fact that they were deep inside US territory… The migrants posed no threat to agents.” , indicates the investigation. As the images show, many Haitians held bags of food in their hands as they fled from border authorities.

The investigation reveals that there is no evidence to confirm that any migrant was forced to return to Mexico or was prevented from entering the United States. “When the situation escalated, two agents on horseback asked their commanders over an unmonitored radio frequency what they should do…eventually they were told that they should allow the migrants to enter the United States. At this point, the agents withdrew and allowed the passage, “adds the document, which also rules out that the agents used the horse’s reins to hit the Haitians” intentionally or accidentally.

Chris Magnus, the commissioner of the CBP, said this Friday in a press conference that four agents will be subject to a disciplinary process for these facts. None of these have been identified by the person in charge of the border. Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of Homeland Security, has said that the faults of these agents do not tarnish “nor reflect the distinguished service” of the rest of the force… CBP must be better and will be,” said the official.

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