Reporter Humiliated After Absurd Lie About Border Patrol Gets Immediately Fact-Checked
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday corrected a reporter who asserted that Border Patrol agents whipped migrants.
TheGrio reporter April Ryan insisted that agents whipped migrants from Haiti in September 2021, allegations that an internal investigation ultimately debunked. The incident took place when thousands of Haitian migrants crossed into Del Rio, Texas, overwhelming the small border town.
“Sir, the southern border is not just Mexicans. It is Haitians. It’s Africans, as we’ve seen particularly with that issue with the Haitians being whipped with reins of the horses,” Ryan said.
“Well, let me just correct you right there because actually the investigation concluded that the whipping did not occur,” Mayorkas said.
“I’m sorry, I saw it differently. They were whipped with something from the horse, reins from the horse. Maybe the video or the picture was fixed, but what I saw was totally different,” Ryan said.
The incident in question can be seen in the photo below, posted to the Twitter account of Ryan:
Maybe its just me but! pic.twitter.com/mfgkxc5i3f
— AprilDRyan (@AprilDRyan) May 11, 2023
“I’m going to leave you as corrected,” Mayorkas said.
Mayorkas corrects April Ryan when she brings up the “Haitians being whipped with the reins of the horses,” noting “the investigation concluded that the whipping did not occur.”
Ryan: “Maybe either the video or the picture was fixed but what I saw was totally different.” pic.twitter.com/sPLPRLMXAx
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) May 11, 2023
The 2021 incident grew chaotic as horseback border agents were attempting to control the crowds and were later found in a Customs and Border Protection internal investigation to have “twirled” their reins in violation of CBP guidance. However, no evidence was found that they whipped anyone.
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