(Washington) U.S. border police are temporarily stopping officers on horseback around the small town of Del Rio in Texas, officials said Thursday after photos were released denouncing Haitian immigrants trying to enter the United States as insulting treatment.
Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas “told civil rights leaders we will no longer use horses in Del Rio,” White House spokeswoman Jen said.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Internal Security said the move was taken on a “temporary basis”.
“We will prioritize the use of other methods to identify people with medical difficulties,” he said in a statement.
In a photo taken Sunday by an AFP-appointed photographer, a border guard on horseback on the American side of the Rio Grande, the natural border between the two countries near Del Rio, catches a man with his t-shirt.
On the other, he keeps a group away by twisting his reins in a pose that threatens them to turn towards Mexico.
These films from all over the world created a sensation in America. Some saw immigrants there as equals to cattle, while others recalled the abuse suffered by blacks at the hands of Mount police, prison guards or slave owners.
Mr Mayorkas on Wednesday assured that the photos did not reflect the identity of the United States or the entire border police operation. The inquiry was initiated and the concerned officers were assigned to administrative tasks.
The U.S. government is facing a new immigration crisis after a sudden and massive influx of thousands of people, including thousands who had been flocking in large numbers for several days under the bridge in a small border town.
More than 1,400 Haitians arrested on the border have already been repatriated by plane, a decision that has been criticized as the small Caribbean nation plunged into political, security and humanitarian crisis.
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