DHS Head: Del Rio Camp Cleared, Agents Who Violently Corralled Migrants Placed on Admin Duties
01:39 GMT 25.09.2021 (Updated: 16:59 GMT 22.07.2023)
© REUTERS / GO NAKAMURAMigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S. after obtaining food and supplies in Mexico as the U.S. Border Patrol agents monitor on a horse on the U.S. side of the bank near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S., in Del Rio Texas, U.S., where they wait to be processed, as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, September 20, 2021.
![Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S. after obtaining food and supplies in Mexico as the U.S. Border Patrol agents monitor on a horse on the U.S. side of the bank near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S., in Del Rio Texas, U.S., where they wait to be processed, as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, September 20, 2021. Migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. cross the Rio Grande river into the U.S. after obtaining food and supplies in Mexico as the U.S. Border Patrol agents monitor on a horse on the U.S. side of the bank near the International Bridge between Mexico and the U.S., in Del Rio Texas, U.S., where they wait to be processed, as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico, September 20, 2021. - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.09.2021](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/09/15/1089279680_0:0:3071:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_2577f2488b295a2a084b4b014eb184c9.jpg)
© REUTERS / GO NAKAMURA
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The Biden White House recently came under fire after photos and video footage emerged showing horse-mounted US Border Patrol agents violently attacking Haitian migrants that had gathered under a border bridge in hopes of gaining passage into the country.
The thousands of Haitian migrants that had gathered and were living under a bridge connecting Mexico with Texas have been cleared from the area, US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revealed on Friday.
The DHS head, during a Friday White House briefing, told reporters that as of Friday morning no migrants remained at the Del Rio camp, after officials reportedly processed some 15,000 individuals.
“As of this morning, there are no longer any migrants in the camp underneath the Del Rio International Bridge,” he told reporters. It was reported the day prior that an estimated 4,000 Haitian migrants had been at the campsite at the time.
The quick drawdown was not seen as a surprise, as the US has been conducting expulsion flights for Haitians who have arrived at the US border after fleeing their home country over violence and in a bid to seek better opportunities.
Mayorkas informed reporters that the department had organized approximately 17 flights back to Haiti that had transported some 2,000 Haitians.
The Friday speaking event also saw Mayorkas discuss disturbing footage that showed mounted Border Patrol agents violently grabbing ahold of Haitian migrants who sought to cross into the US at the southern border.
© AFP 2023 / Paul RatjeАгент пограничного патруля США пытается помешать гаитянскому мигранту войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас
![Агент пограничного патруля США пытается помешать гаитянскому мигранту войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас Агент пограничного патруля США пытается помешать гаитянскому мигранту войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.09.2021](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/09/14/1089231058_0:0:3062:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_919856a917c92accabb021358749d3f3.jpg)
Агент пограничного патруля США пытается помешать гаитянскому мигранту войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас
© AFP 2023 / Paul Ratje
Photos of the incident prompted quick public outcry, particularly as they strongly evoked images of slavery.
© AFP 2023 / Paul RatjeАгенты пограничного патруля США пытаются помешать гаитянским мигрантам войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас
![Агенты пограничного патруля США пытаются помешать гаитянским мигрантам войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас Агенты пограничного патруля США пытаются помешать гаитянским мигрантам войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас - Sputnik International, 1920, 25.09.2021](https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e5/09/14/1089231065_0:0:3013:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_c581d4ebec65f4411a5c92e500af5040.jpg)
Агенты пограничного патруля США пытаются помешать гаитянским мигрантам войти в лагерь на берегу Рио-Гранде в Дель-Рио, штат Техас
© AFP 2023 / Paul Ratje
Mayorkas indicated that the mounted law enforcement officials who attacked migrants with what appeared to be whips have now been assigned administrative duties, and were no longer working with migrants.
“The agents involved in these incidents have been assigned to administrative duties and are not interacting with migrants while the investigation is ongoing,” Mayorkas told reporters in the White House.
The official went on to state that an investigation into the incident is ongoing and "has not yet concluded," acknowledging that "those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation's ongoing battle against systemic racism."
While Mayorkas noted that the photos are shocking, he and Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz rejected allegations that whips were used in the agents' efforts to detain the Haitian migrants. What looks remarkably like whips in the photographs and video, according to the pair, were the reins the riders used to control their horses.