National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd hammered DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for ‘lying’ to the American people after ‘smoking gun’ emails show he was alerted that photos did not show Border Patrol agents had ‘whipped’ Haitian migrants crossing the Rio Grande last September.
The entire incident, which happened just over a year ago, involved an image taken from a dubious angle spread by a Democrat communications strategist who had no idea how horses and/or reins work.
Border patrol is mounted on horseback rounding up Haitian refugees with whips.
This is unfathomable cruelty towards people fleeing disaster and political ruin. The administration must stop this. pic.twitter.com/BSjT91NSj0
— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) September 20, 2021
The agents were eventually cleared of any criminal wrongdoing, as it was revealed they were using split reins to control their horses – not “whipping migrants” – though an investigation and potential punishment for “administrative violations” is still ongoing.
Fox News reports that an email sent to Mayorkas and other DHS officials shows an article complete with highlighted sections that indicate the actual photographer behind the image insisted there was no whipping involved.
Mayorkas condemned the Border Patrol agents anyway at a press conference hours later.
NEW: Email reveals DHS Secretary Mayorkas was alerted by DHS’ top public affairs official that the “whipping” narrative behind horseback BP photos wasn’t true, but at a WH press conference 2.5 hours later, he didn’t refute that narrative, instead calling the images “horrifying”. pic.twitter.com/Qyfy2NBkNo
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 12, 2022
Email Shows Mayorkas Was Informed That Border Agents Hadn’t Whipped Illegal Immigrants
The article sent in the email to Mayorkas explains that the photographer “and his colleagues never saw agents whipping anyone.”
“I’ve never seen them whip anyone,” a highlighted section of the photographer’s statement reads. “He was swinging it, but it can be misconstrued when you’re looking at the picture.”
Mayorkas would call the images “horrifying” at a press conference just hours later, further fueling the media’s false narrative.
“Our nation saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are,” Mayorkas said nearly three hours after the email was sent. “We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism.”
“In the midst of meeting these challenges, we, our entire nation, saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are, who we aspire to be, or the integrity and values of our truly heroic personnel,” DHS Secretary Mayorkas says. pic.twitter.com/nAhawZK47C
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 24, 2021
Mayorkas was later asked about the discrepancy between reports that the illegal immigrants hadn’t been whipped and incendiary comments by President Biden that they had been “strapped” and that the agents “will pay” for their actions.
“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,” Mayorkas told reporters.
It only ‘conjured up’ such images for those who were actively hoping they had found evidence of racist border agents. A Rorschach test if ever there was one.
“Better Men Would Resign”
Judd called the email “smoking gun evidence” that Mayorkas had blatantly lied to the American people and suggested he should resign.
Though, to be fair, it is possible Mayorkas didn’t receive, read, or fully understand the email before he made his comments. That’s the most generous explanation.
Of course, that also points to a communication problem in the top levels of government, if pertinent information is not getting to cabinet secretaries or the President before they start shooting from the hip to the press.
“It clearly shows they are willing to lie to the American people for their self-interests,” Judd said.
“They withheld facts and anytime you withhold facts from the American people … you should step down from your job,” Judd told Fox News. “Better men step down. This clearly shows they are not better men.”
The email was sent to Mayorkas and other DHS officials by Marsha Espinosa, assistant secretary of public affairs for DHS. It was sent hours after President Biden falsely accused the agents of “strapping” migrants and promised they would “pay”, and hours before Mayorkas’ presser.
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) October 12, 2022
Regardless of what Mayorkas knew that day, he’s allowed it to remain an ongoing matter many months later through reports that the agents could still be punished for “administrative violations.”
Others, like far-left ‘Squad’ member Representative Ayanna Pressley, simply keep the lie going because nobody in the media is willing to correct them.
Pressley (D-MA) posted an image of the incident just a few weeks ago, a celebration of the one-year anniversary of the media-driven hoax.
“This happened one year ago today,” she tweeted.
“#1YearAfterDelRio, we won’t stop fighting for *real* accountability & an immigration system that affirms asylum as the fundamental human right that it is,” added Pressley.
She was promptly called out by several followers for perpetuating the lie.
Reported for spreading misinformation
— Matt Whitlock (@mattdizwhitlock) September 20, 2022
Will anyone, besides National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd, call out Mayorkas?
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The post Biden Sec. Mayorkas Was Told Border Patrol Hadn’t ‘Whipped’ Haitian Migrants Before Press Conference Demonizing Agents appeared first on The Political Insider.
