Letter to Hon. Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security - Sen. Cramer, Colleagues Demand Disclosure of Report on Border Patrol Horse-Whipping Investigation

Letter

More than six months after the promised release of an investigative report concerning horse patrol activity last September in Del Rio, Texas, U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) in demanding public disclosure of these unreleased findings by U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

"We write you today to request that you disclose the investigative findings of the investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) regarding horse patrol activity in Del Rio, TX in September," wrote the senators.

On September 19, 2021, pictures were taken of U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback using horse reins in an effort to prevent Haitian migrants from illegally crossing the border near Del Rio, Texas. This resulted in unjustified allegations from activists, Democrat politicians, and the Biden Administration that the reins were being used as whips, regardless of accounts to the contrary.

"At the time, members of the Biden Administration very publicly and harshly condemned this patrol activity. Before any facts were gathered, President Biden vowed that the agents "will pay' for this patrol activity, and Vice President Harris called the agents' activity "horrible' and said that there "needs to be consequences and accountability,' despite that the photographer who captured the images in question said that the photographs were being "misconstrued' as whipping. The agents were placed on leave from their law enforcement duties pending an investigation," continued the senators.

Despite sharply (and seemingly inaccurately) condemning U.S. Border Patrol agents in September for "whipping" or inappropriately interacting with border-crossing migrants using horse reins--and promising a full public report on the matter within days--the Biden Administration has not disclosed its findings six months later. A recent news report quoting a DHS official suggests that this is because the findings contradict their narrative regarding this event and make the Biden Administration look bad. The senators are requesting that the findings be released to the public by April 13, 2022.

"The American people--and especially your agents whose superiors publicly accused them of misconduct--deserve the transparency you promised, even if it is embarrassing for the Biden Administration," concluded the senators.

Senators Cramer and Hagerty were joined by Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), and Mike Lee (R-UT).