(Tony Sifert, Headline USA) The Department of Homeland Security is following through on President Joe Biden’s demand that Border Patrol agents “pay” for doing their job and preventing illegal aliens from crossing the Mexican border into the United States, according to a report from Fox News.
The Border Patrol agents in question were accused of “whipping” and “strapping” illegal border-crossers after photographs of the mounted agents in action emerged in September 2021.
During remarks delivered on Sept. 24, 2021—even as the photographer himself claimed to the New York Post that his photos had been misconstrued—President Biden condemned the agents.
“It was horrible what [they did]—to see people treated like they did: horses nearly running them over and people being strapped,” the president said. “I promise you, those people will pay … an investigation is underway now, and there will be consequences.”
Although no criminal charges have been filed against the agents, Fox News’s Bill Melugin reported late Tuesday that the DHS was going to discipline them anyway.
“Per federal source, DHS is preparing to discipline multiple horseback Border Patrol agents who were accused of ‘whipping’ Haitian migrants in Del Rio last summer,” Melugin wrote on Twitter. “I’m told DHS will imminently allege ‘administrative violations.'”
BREAKING: Per federal source, DHS is preparing to discipline multiple horseback Border Patrol agents who were accused of “whipping” Haitian migrants in Del Rio last summer. I’m told DHS will imminently allege “administrative violations”, agents will be able to respond @FoxNews
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) June 14, 2022
In a follow-up article, Melugin reported that “an announcement on the matter is expected within the coming days.”
Trump-endorsed Senate candidate Blake Masters, R-Ariz., took to Twitter to criticize the administration’s handling of the incident.
“The Biden regime is embarrassed that they fell for a bulls**t story about whipping, so they’re going to ruin the careers of these border patrol agents who were just doing their jobs,” Masters wrote.
The Biden regime is embarrassed that they fell for a bulls**t story about whipping, so they’re going to ruin the careers of these border patrol agents who were just doing their jobs. https://t.co/STV8zrHdhB
— Blake Masters (@bgmasters) June 15, 2022
The DHS’s political action is likely to exacerbate tensions between the administration and Border Patrol agents, who are already suffering from low morale.
“Under Biden, things are the worst they have ever been by far,” one agent told the Washington Examiner. “There is no morale.”
“All they have done is basically stomped on us from the get-go,” another agent said. “People are pretty much fed up with how this administration is treating Border Patrol agents because all we’ve been doing this whole time is what they’ve told us to do, which is really bad policy.”
