According to an official investigative report released on Friday, mounted US Border Patrol agents acted “unprofessional” and “offensive” toward Haitian migrants attempting to enter the United States in September 2021, but did not hit them with the reins.
This case had caused a stir in the country and beyond. Photos had shown mounted Border Patrol agents pushing back migrants near Del Rio, Texas, on the border with Mexico.
With one shot, a mounted officer grabbed a man’s shirt. In another, he kept a group at bay by twirling his reins in a menacing stance.
“Despite initial appearances, after careful review and analysis of videos, photos and witness statements,” investigators found “nothing to prove that the border guards involved beat migrants with their reins, whether intentionally or not,” said Chris Magnus, head of the Border Police, during a press conference presenting the conclusions of the investigation.
However, “an official acted unprofessionally by making offensive and insulting comments about a migrant’s origin,” he added.
“The same officer acted dangerously by forcing his horse to maneuver very close to a small child,” he said again, citing several other errors.
Several agents tried to push the migrants back to the river between Mexico and the United States, and the mounted units deployed were not properly trained and coordinated, he said.
A disciplinary proceeding is ongoing, Magnus said.
President Joe Biden had promised the police officers involved “consequences”, called their behavior “scandalous” and thought it was “terrible (…) to see people treated in this way”.
At the time, thousands of migrants, most of them Haitians, had camped in the area for several days hoping to be admitted to the United States.