© 2024 WRVO Public Media
NPR News for Central New York
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Haitian Migrants Have Now Been Cleared From Del Rio Border Camp, U.S. Says

U.S. Border Patrol agents used horses to block migrants crossing the Rio Grande River near the Del Rio-Acuña Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas, on Sunday. After agents grabbed migrants from horseback and at least one agent whirled his reins at a man, the agents' use of horses was suspended.
Eric Thayer
/
Bloomberg via Getty Images
U.S. Border Patrol agents used horses to block migrants crossing the Rio Grande River near the Del Rio-Acuña Port of Entry in Del Rio, Texas, on Sunday. After agents grabbed migrants from horseback and at least one agent whirled his reins at a man, the agents' use of horses was suspended.

President Biden says U.S. Border Patrol agents' use of horses — and in at least one instance, long reins — to chase Haitian migrants was "outrageous," promising consequences for those responsible for the controversial incident at the border in Texas.

Biden was asked about the agents' actions near the international bridge in Del Rio, Texas, during a news briefing late Friday morning. Photos from the border interdiction quickly triggered outrage in the U.S. and beyond, as well as criticism for the Biden administration's policy of rounding up Haitian migrants to be deported.

Asked if he takes responsibility for the chaos that has emerged at the border, Biden replied, "Of course I take responsibility. I'm president," adding that it was "horrible" to see how federal agents treated the migrants.

"To see people treated like they did — horses [unintelligible] running them over, people being strapped. It's outrageous. I promise you, those people will pay," Biden said.

The president noted that the matter is being investigated.

"It's an embarrassment — it's beyond an embarrassment," Biden added. "It's dangerous, it's wrong. It sends the wrong message around the world; it sends the wrong message at home. It's simply not who we are."

Horse patrols at that part of the border are now suspended, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday. Earlier this week, Psaki repeatedly called the scene "horrific."

Many of the migrants who were caught up in the border agents' actions were attempting to bring food back from Mexico to a huge encampment under the international bridge in Del Rio, where more than 14,000 people had massed.

Most of the migrants are from Haiti, although some of the people are from Cuba, Brazil and other countries.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Bill Chappell is a writer and editor on the News Desk in the heart of NPR's newsroom in Washington, D.C.