US Vice President Kamala Harris has weighed in on a public relations crisis for the Biden administration after images and footage emerged showing mounted border patrol agents rounding up Haitian migrants as they attempted to cross the Rio Grande into Texas.
Ms Harris called Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to discuss the images, taken at the US-Mexico border in Del Rio, the vice president’s spokeswoman Symone Sanders said on Wednesday.
In some pictures, border guards appear to lash at migrants using their horses' long leather reins.
The call could indicate the White House is holding Mr Mayorkas responsible as President Joe Biden's administration grapples with an influx of Haitians.
“The vice president raised her grave concerns about the mistreatment of Haitian migrants by border patrol agents on horses and the need of all [Customs and Border Protection] agents to treat people with dignity, humanely and consistent with our laws and our values,” a readout of the call said.
Nine members of the Congressional Black Caucus also visited the White House on Wednesday to discuss the situation in meetings with some of Mr Biden’s top advisers.
Mr Biden has already given Ms Harris the task of working with Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras to stem the flow of migrants attempting to enter the US - many of whom are seeking asylum.
Last month’s 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Haiti and political upheaval following the assassination of former president Jovenel Moise have prompted an additional surge of Haitian migrants and asylum seekers to mass on the border Mexico in the hope of crossing into the US.
The readout of Ms Harris’s call with Mr Mayorkas noted that he shared her concern over the images and the vice president pledged to follow up with him “in the coming days".
Mr Mayokas has said that the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Customs and Border Protection agency, is investigating the incident.
While testifying before Congress on Wednesday, he vowed to conduct the investigation “thoroughly but very quickly” in a matter of days and noted that he has informed the department’s inspector general.
The secretary said that the images “correctly and necessarily were met with our nation’s horror because they do not reflect who we are as a country, nor do they reflect who the United States Customs and Border Protection is".
“We have ensured that the individuals during the pendency of the investigation are not conducting law enforcement duties to interact with migrants but rather are conducting only administrative duties,” Mr Mayorkas said.
During the congressional hearing, several conservative Republicans laid into Mr Mayorkas, accusing him of not doing enough to secure the southern border.
But before the images surfaced, Mr Mayorkas had visited the area to urge Haitian migrants not to cross the border and said the US would have “no choice” but to expel them.
At the time, the Biden administration intended to deport the 12,000 Haitian migrants who had entered Del Rio and flights had already started to repatriate them.
After the images were released, however, the Biden administration appeared to quickly change course.
US officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the Biden administration is now releasing the Haitian migrants with notices to appear at an immigration office within the next two months.
THE BIO: Mohammed Ashiq Ali
Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”
Favourite TV programme: the news
Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”
Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
The five pillars of Islam
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
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