The Whips That Weren’t

Vice News declared in a September tweet that Border Patrol agents “are whipping Haitian migrants at the US-Mexico border in Texas.” Yet neither the story nor the Al Jazeera video it links to suggested that the agents were actually whipping the migrants.

It was later determined that the agents were wielding the reins of their horses — not whips — as they worked to contain the flow of migrants across the river. And experts familiar with the protocols for mounted Border Patrol agents came to the defense of the agents in the video, saying the reins can be used to steer the horse, but agents will also spin them on occasion to deter people from getting too close to the horse.

The media game of telephone stirred up such a frenzy that Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas vowed to open an investigation into the situation. However, DHS’ inspector general later “declined” to investigate the agents.