The White House's press secretary, Jen Psaki, has responded to "horrific" viral videos and images that show US Border Patrol agents confronting Haitian refugees at the US border, per CNN.
Psaki said on Monday that Washington is seeking more information on the videos that show agents on horseback.
"I've seen some of the footage. I don't have the full context. I can't imagine what context would make that appropriate, but I don't have additional details, and certainly, I don't have additional context," she said at the White House press briefing.
"I don't think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate," she continued, adding that the videos were "obviously horrific" and "horrible to watch".
When pressed as to whether the agents should be dismissed for their conduct, Psaki said, "Of course they should never be able to do it again."
WARNING: This following tweet contains upsetting content:Videos taken by Al Jazeera and Reuters show the agents being aggressive to migrants. Their tactics allegedly included swinging long reigns near individuals who crossed the US-Mexico border near Del Rio, Texas.
A Reuters video shows the officer's horse charging close to one of the migrants, who falls back into the water. In the Al Jazeera video, an agent is heard shouting at the migrants, saying: "You use your women? This is why your country is sh*t, because you use your women for this."
The incident took place in Del Rio, Texas, where over 15,000 migrants — largely of Haitian descent — have converged on a border bridge, per NBC News.
The full transcript of the agent's remarks can be read on the Twitter account of Al Jazeera journalist, John Holman.
Homeland security secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, spoke at a news conference close to the border on Monday. He said that the department would be investigating the incident, but defended the use of horse patrols.
"To ensure control of the horse, long reins are used but we are going to investigate the facts to ensure that the situation is as we understand it to be and if it's anything different, we will respond accordingly," he said.
In a series of tweets published on Monday evening, the Department of Homeland Security said that "DHS does not tolerate the abuse of migrants in our custody and we take these allegations very seriously."
They claimed that Mayorkas "directed that personnel from the Office of Professional Responsibility be on-site full-time to ensure that the responsibilities of DHS personnel are executed consistent with applicable policies and training and the Department's values.
"The footage is extremely troubling and the facts learned from the full investigation, which will be conducted swiftly, will define the appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken," they added.
Speaking to CNN, Mayorkas added, "One cannot weaponize a horse to aggressively attack a child. That is unacceptable. That is not what our policies and our training require ... We will not tolerate mistreatment."
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