Local residents in Del Rio, Texas are standing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents under investigation for allegedly mistreating migrants illegally crossing into the U.S. from Mexico.
The Border Patrol is conducting an internal review of six agents after viral images sparked accusations that the agents, who worked on horseback, were whipping and charging migrants. No further evidence has been uncovered to support the allegations, and Border Patrol officials and others have pointed out that the long straps seen in the images were horse reins, not whips.
Fox News conducted interviews with several local Del Rio residents about the allegations against the agents. The locals roundly supported the agents. As Fox News reported:
“It brought me to tears,” one longtime resident said. “These men are giving their lives, leaving their families, to come here and to secure us. I’m personally very thankful.”
The resident’s wife added: “We’ve been here for 54 years … I’ve watched when there was a multitude of people coming, their kindness to them.”
“They’re not bad people,” she told Fox News. “They’re wonderful people.”
Images of Border Patrol agents on horseback catching Haitian migrants in Del Rio recently went viral. The agents were falsely accused of whipping the migrants.
“We back them completely,” the woman said. “We say don’t lie about them. Please don’t lie about them.”
Diane, who lives right on the border, told Fox News: “Border Patrol are phenomenal.”
President Joe Biden slammed the group of mounted Border Patrol agents last week. The president promised consequences for the agents after the unsupported allegations began to circulate.
“To see people treated like they did? Horses running them over? People being strapped? It’s outrageous,” Biden said on Friday. “I promise you those people will pay. There will be consequences.”
The six agents under investigation are likely to face some type of punishment, according to reports. As The Daily Wire reported:
Border Patrol officials told Fox News that agents targeted by President Joe Biden over unsubstantiated allegations of whipping and “running … over” illegal immigrants are likely to face some form of punishment.
“Exactly what those consequences will be is up for debate. Despite the angry rhetoric from the White House, senior administration officials told Fox News that the investigation should produce little more than a suspension of a few days with pay for the agents – and should be a ‘non-issue,’” Fox News reported.
The official went on to tell the outlet that the Border Patrol agents involved “did their job.”
“Yelling at people is not a crime,” the official said. He added that the National Border Patrol Council, the union responsible for representing about 18,000 Border Patrol agents, has provided lawyers for the agents involved.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) has promised to hire the Border Patrol agents to work for the state of Texas should they be fired or quit over the incident.
“What the President said going after the Border Patrol, who were risking their lives and 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,” Abbott said on Sunday. “I want them to know something, if they are at risk of losing their job, got a president who is abandoning his duty to secure the border, you have a job in the state of Texas. I will hire you to help Texas secure our border.”