Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his state would gladly hire any Border Patrol agents on horseback who are fired by the Biden administration after a photo of one agent trying to stop a Haitian migrant sparked outrage.
President Joe Biden last week slammed as ‘outrageous’ the image of a Border Patrol agent on horseback reaching for a migrant who tried to cross into the United States illegally.
The dramatic photo shows what appears to be a whip belonging to the agent. The whip makes contact with the migrant, creating the impression that the agent was using it to subdue the undocumented Haitian national.
But the photographer who took the photo and the agent both said that there was no whipping. The object in the photo was not a whip but a long rein used to control the horse.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott said his state would gladly hire any Border Patrol agents on horseback who are fired by the Biden administration after a photo of one agent trying to stop a Haitian migrant sparked outrage
President Joe Biden last week slammed as ‘outrageous’ the image of a Border Patrol agent on horseback reaching for a migrant who tried to cross into the United States illegally. The dramatic photo shows what appears to be a whip belonging to the agent. But the photographer who took the photo and the agent both said that there was no whipping
President Biden (seen above speaking to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House on Sunday) slammed the agents' behavior, but many have accused the president of a rush to judgment
Abbott took aim at Biden on Sunday, criticizing the president for a rush to judgment.
‘What the president said going after the Border Patrol who were risking their lives, working so hard to try to secure the border...If he takes any action against them whatsoever - I have worked side by side with those Border Patrol agents - I want them to know something,’ the Texas governor told Fox News Sunday.
‘If they are at risk of losing their job [from] a president who is abandoning his duty to secure the border, you have a job in the state of Texas.’
The Biden administration has been widely criticized by immigration hardliners for the recent influx of undocumented Haitian migrants.
Paul Ratje, the New Mexico-based photographer who took the image said the riders were merely swinging their reins, not trying to harm the migrants
The photos drew international criticism for the Border Patrol after they were distributed worldwide by AFP
The White House says horseback officers will no longer be used to round up migrants near the border in Del Rio, Texas
Biden said of the picture and video: ‘It was horrible to see, to see people treated like they did, with horses nearly running them over. People being strapped'
Alejandro Mayorkas finally admitted on Sunday that 12,000 Haitian migrants have been released into the US, claiming that number could go up as 5,000 other cases are still being
