Border Patrol Grills Biden for Failing to Give Benefit of Doubt Over Claims Migrants Were Whipped

US President Joe Biden was quick to pledge consequences after footage from the southern border emerged, seemingly showing border agents "whipping" some of the thousands of Haitian migrants who arrived in Del Rio, Texas, illegally last week. Yet, many, including those behind the footage, later cast doubts on its interpretations.

Agents from the US Border Patrol were hurt by Joe Biden's swift jump to conclusions and failure to grant them the "benefit of the doubt" over claims that some mounted officers were "whipping" illegal migrants, according to what several agents told the Daily Mail.

In fact, the agents noted, that Biden should have taken part of the blame.

"It is absolutely outrageous that President Biden wouldn't give us the benefit of the doubt before spouting off", one agent said. "He should have supported us as federal agents — especially in light of how abysmally he's handled the border crisis".

Another agent underlined that the goal of his job is to ensure the "safety and security" of the nation.

"Just because Biden won't man up and accept responsibility for his actions doesn't mean we won't", he continued. "We have handled every crisis this administration has challenged us with and we still hold our heads up, put a badge on, and go to work to defend this country from any who would enter illegally".

The agents' bitter response comes after Joe Biden swiftly pledged to investigate the allegations of migrants being whipped after photos supposedly showed this occurring. Biden pledged that "those people will pay", dubbing the allegations an "embarrassment".

He was echoed by Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been tasked with handling the situation on the border (and faced criticism for doing little to help). She said that the footage evoked images of "the worst moments of our history", particularly the "times of slavery".

However, the claims of border officers "whipping" individuals were vehemently denied - not only by the agents themselves but even by the photographer who actually took the pictures that caused the outcry. In an interview with KTSM, Paul Ratje, the author of the images, said that he "has never seen them whip anyone" and "it can be misconstrued when you're looking at the picture".

The same sentiment was voiced by the agents who spoke to the Daily Mail, who argued that many officers are in fact empathetic and helpful to the migrants, with some "spend[ing] their own money to buy French fries for crying kids" and helping women and children - only for the "liberal media" to "spin a narrative of hate and corruption" later.

"I know one thing, I have never seen an agent whip a single illegal", one agent assured the outlet.

According to the agent, had the man on horseback actually done something wrong, he would own up to it, because officers have a code of conduct that they adhere to.

The photos of border agents allegedly "whipping" Haitians emerged earlier in the week, in the middle of yet another migrant surge on the southern US border, when thousands of Haitian nationals hit the city of Del Rio and assembled a makeshift camp under a bridge there. The authorities estimated that at least 15,000 migrants were gathered in the Texas region at some point, with the Biden administration having to ramp up "deportation" flights and fly some groups of people to different migrant-processing locations in order to alleviate crowds.

The Del Rio situation is simply one more twist in the border crisis, unleashing even more bipartisan condemnation of the Biden administration. In part, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) called the Haitian migrant surge "an absolute catastrophe", while former President Donald Trump asserted that the US "has gone to hell" under Biden.

Commenting on the situation, Biden said that he "takes responsibility", since he is the president. Both he and Kamala Harris pledged to launch an investigation into the treatment of illegal migrants on the southern border.

Per Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, his department, along with US Customs and Border Protection and other federal and local agencies, has responded "with a surge of personnel and resources to address the humanitarian needs of the individuals" on the border.

As of the morning of 25 September, Mayorkas noted, there were "no longer any migrants in the camp underneath the Del Rio International Bridge".