These images of the use of mounted US border police against Haitian refugees caused excitement and outrage in the USA. And the question raised: Is the liberal President Joe Biden (78) on the border with Mexico even tougher than his Republican predecessor Donald Trump (75)?
Biden’s spokeswoman Jen Psaki (42) had a hard time explaining what was going on on the Rio Grande on Monday. The recordings, which had previously gone viral on the Internet, were “awful” to watch, she said. And: Although she does not know the exact background, she also does not know in which context such a procedure could be “appropriate”.
Refugees from Haiti who tried to get to the USA via Mexico were driven back by border guardsPhoto: Felix Marquez / AP
Images that went viral on the Internet: four mounted border guards are pushing a group of refugees from Haiti back into the Rio GrandePhoto: Felix Marquez / dpa
Two refugees hold a baby afloat as they return through the Rio Grande to the Mexican border town of Ciudad Acuna.Photo: Felix Marquez / dpa
“I don’t think anyone who saw these footage would consider it acceptable or appropriate,” said Psaki. Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas (61) announced an investigation during a visit to the border area. “We will investigate the facts.” If necessary, there will be consequences.
Photos by photographer Paul Ratje, who works for the AFP news agency, and video recordings show how mounted border guards in the state of Texas on the border with Mexico act against refugees from Haiti. A policeman on horseback grabs a man by his T-shirt.
In other pictures it looks as if police officers are threateningly swinging their long reins. Internet users felt reminded of the times when police officers on horseback or prison guards in the USA used whips to crack down on black people.
But the photographer himself admitted that his photos show an exceptional situation. Ratje said the border police tried to block the refugees from crossing the border river Rio Grande.
“Some of the migrants ran off and tried to get past the riders,” said the photographer. This is where his recordings were made. But the situation soon calmed down.
Either way, the pictures of the US public have shown once again how big the refugee crisis is in the south of their country. Thousands of Haitians are currently trying to cross the border between Mexico and the United States. In the meantime, more than 14,000 people have waited under a bridge in the Texas border town of Del Rio.
Many of them apparently mistakenly believe that they can be tolerated in the USA. The Haitians would receive “false information” “that the border is open or that temporary protection status is possible,” said Homeland Security Minister Mayorkas. “We have repeated that our borders are not open and people should not take the dangerous journey. Anyone who comes to the USA illegally will be deported. ”
The US is betting on expanding deportation flights to Haiti.