Damning email shows DHS Sec. Mayorkas informed BP-whipping narrative was false, pushed it anyway

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas allegedly received an email hours before a White House press conference that debunked the narrative that Haitian illegal immigrants were whipped by Border Patrol agents on horseback but ran with it anyway.

The DHS head was reportedly told in a Sept. 24, 2021 email that the photographer who took the picture of an altercation between Border Patrol agents and Haitian migrants in Del Rio had said that the incident was being misconstrued.

The damning email was obtained by the Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project via a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA). It shows that the Biden administration and Democrats deliberately pushed a false narrative that illegal immigrants were being “whipped” or “strapped” by Border Patrol agents despite it being quickly debunked.

The split reins were used to control agents’ horses to protect the immigrants, not hurt them as they rushed across the river.

President Biden asserted that the agents would pay for beating the migrants, evidently knowing full well it was not true.

“To see people treated like they did, horses barely running over, people being strapped — it’s outrageous,” the president told reporters, making a whipping motion with his hand. “I promise you, those people will pay. There will be an investigation underway now, and there will be consequences. There will be consequences.”

Over a year later, the investigation is still ongoing. Findings by the Office of Professional Responsibility in July found that no whips were used and no migrant was struck by the reins during the incident.

Marsha Espinosa, assistant secretary of DHS public affairs, reportedly emailed Mayorkas just hours before Biden would accuse Border Agents of whipping the migrants and cc’d other DHS leadership, alerting them to a news article that showed that the photographer who took the images stated he did not see any whipping. She highlighted the comments from the photographer in the email where he definitively claims he did not witness any whipping.

Mayorkas proceeded to accuse the agents two and a half hours later anyway. He was joined by White House press secretary Jen Psaki at a White House Press conference.

“Our nation saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are. We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism,” Mayorkas declared.

Earlier that same week, Mayorkas had spoken alongside Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, defending the Border Patrol agents. He noted at the time that they used long reins to control their horses, not as whips. By the end of the week, that was all forgotten and buried with the new narrative being falsely pushed.

“The images horrified us in terms of what they suggest and what they conjure up,” Mayorkas proclaimed.

When asked about the photographer’s comments after that press conference, he asserted, “I made the statements without having seen the images.”

“I saw the images on the flight back, and I made the statement that I did with respect to what those images suggested,” he said evidently lying.

“The horses have long reins, and the image in the photograph that we all saw, and that horrified the nation, raised serious questions about what… occurred and as I stated quite clearly, it conjured up images of what has occurred in the past,” he stated.

“There’s also a question of how one uses the horse and how one interacts with individuals with the horse,” Mayorkas continued. “And so I’m going to let the investigation run its course.”

When asked about the alleged whipping by a reporter, he said “that is something that horrified us all.”

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told Fox News that the email obtained by the Heritage Foundation was “smoking gun evidence.”

“It clearly shows they are willing to lie to the American people for their self-interests,” he charged. “They withheld facts and anytime you withhold facts from the American people.. you should step down from your job. Better men step down. This clearly shows they are not better men.”

“They certainly don’t want the American public to know the truth,” Judd told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “They specifically withheld facts from the American people so that the narrative would go forward.”

“They knew that it wouldn’t matter that the truth was going to come out later,” he remarked. “Because they know that the media is not going to cover it. So they went forward with a completely bogus story, misrepresenting facts and misleading the American public. That should not be tolerated from the President of the United States.”

Federal sources report to Fox News that the three horseback agents and a supervisor are still facing a 3 to 14-day unpaid suspension for the incident and are in the process of trying to respond to the accusations.

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!

Success! Thank you for donating. Please share BPR content to help combat the lies.

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

BPR INSIDER COMMENTS

Scroll down for non-member comments or join our insider conversations by becoming a member. We'd love to have you!

Latest Articles