Heads at the Department of Homeland Security should definitely start to roll in response to a new revelation. Alejandro Mayorkas, the Secretary of Homeland Security, publicly criticized Border Patrol agents who were allegedly seen “whipping” Haitian migrants, but the truth is that they were aware that the claims were untrue.
We are aware of emails that Marsha Espinosa, assistant secretary of DHS public affairs, sent to Mayorkas that contradicted the story of the “whipping,” according to documents obtained by the Heritage Foundation.
To be more specific, Espinosa cited a news report in which Paul Ratje, the photographer who took the powerful pictures, claimed that the conventional wisdom was incorrect.
However, Mayorkas continued to push the obviously false narrative that same afternoon. “Our entire nation saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are, who we aspire to be, or the integrity and values of our truly heroic personnel in the Department of Homeland Security,” he said during the White House press briefing. ” The investigation into what occurred has not yet concluded. We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism.”
Two hours earlier, Joe Biden had threatened the Border Patrol officers by telling them, “It was horrible [what] you saw. To see people treated like they did [sic]. Horses nearly running people over and people being strapped. It’s outrageous. I promise you those people will pay. They will be investigated. There will be consequences.”
Mayorkas pledged that the mounted Border Patrol agents will be the subject of a swift investigation. On the other hand, the investigation is still ongoing more than a year after the incident.
According to a report published in July by the Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility, Border Patrol agents did not “whip” Haitian migrants.
NEW: Email reveals DHS Secretary Mayorkas was alerted by DHS' top public affairs official that the "whipping" narrative behind horseback BP photos wasn't true, but at a WH press conference 2.5 hours later, he didn't refute that narrative, instead calling the images "horrifying". pic.twitter.com/Qyfy2NBkNo
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 12, 2022
Republican lawmakers have once again demanded Mayorkas’ resignation or impeachment.