White House officials decry viral Border Patrol videos: 'This is not who we are'
Prominent White House officials took to the morning shows on Tuesday to further condemn the disturbing reports of horse-mounted U.S. Border Patrol agents chasing Haitian migrants in Texas. The Department of Homeland Security said Monday night it will be conducting a swift investigation into the matter, and that disciplinary action will be determined based on the investigation's findings.
"One cannot weaponize a horse to aggressively attack a child. That is unacceptable," said Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on CNN's New Day. "That is not what our policies and our training require."
"We will not tolerate mistreatment, and we will address it with full force based on the facts that we learn," added Mayorkas. He noted that he was "horrified" and "profoundly" troubled by what he saw in the now-viral clips and images.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Separately, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki appeared on CBS to decry the tactics she defined as "horrific."
"This is not who we are," Psaki said. "That's not who the Biden-Harris administration is."
On Monday, Psaki said during a press briefing that while she didn't have the full context for the videos, she "can't imagine what context would make that appropriate." "I don't think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate," she added.
-
Political cartoons for January 19Cartoons Monday's political cartoons include Greenland tariffs, fighting the Fed, and more
-
Spain’s deadly high-speed train crashThe Explainer The country experienced its worst rail accident since 2013, with the death toll of 39 ‘not yet final’
-
Can Starmer continue to walk the Trump tightrope?Today's Big Question PM condemns US tariff threat but is less confrontational than some European allies
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
