Alejandro Mayorkas, the secretary of homeland security, shrugged off lawmakers’ calls for his impeachment on Friday, claiming that their rhetoric about the border being “open” was encouraging more illegal immigration, Fox News informed.
Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and a group of Republican congressmen called for Mayorkas’ resignation after learning that on September 19, 2021, no Haitian migrants had been “whipped” by Border Patrol agents, according to Fox News.
After emails obtained by the Heritage Foundation through a FOIA request revealed Mayorkas was informed that stories of whipping at the border were likely incorrect, Mayorkas came under even closer scrutiny.
Marsha Espinosa, assistant secretary of DHS public affairs, alerted Mayorkas and other DHS officials via email on September 24, 2021, directing them to a news article with quotes from the photographer who took the pictures of Border Patrol agents riding horses, denying ever seeing agents “whip anyone.”
At a White House press conference, Mayorkas joined White House press secretary Jen Psaki, but he continued to advance the narrative that the American people saw horrifying images that did not reflect who they are, adding that the US knows that those images painfully evoked the worst aspects of the country’s ongoing struggle against systemic racism.
When Mayorkas and Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz spoke earlier in the week, they supported the agents, even pointing out that they use long reins to control their horses rather than whips.
However, that clarification was dropped before the end of the week.
No migrants were struck by reins, and no Border Patrol agents were in possession of whips, according to an investigation conducted by the Office of Professional Responsibility in July. However, other alleged infractions were discovered, such as using “denigrating and offensive” language toward migrants and riding a horse in a “unsafe” way around a child.
Additionally, agents were charged with employing “unnecessary use of force” to shoo migrants away.
Be the first to comment