Jen Psaki said at a press briefing Thursday that the images are "horrible and horrific" and noted that an investigation is ongoing

 

Chief White House Spinner Jen Psaki said today that after the ‘horrible and horrific’ photos that came out this week of Border Patrol agents using horses to block Haitian illegals, they would not be allowed to do that any longer:

"I can also convey to you that [DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas] also conveyed to civil rights leaders earlier this morning that we would no longer be using horses in Del Rio," she said.

A DHS spokesperson later said in a statement: "We have ceased the use of the horse patrol in Del Rio temporarily. We'll prioritize other methods for identifying individuals who might be in medical distress."

The revelation comes on the fourth day of controversy related to the false claims that agents used "whips" against Haitian migrants on Sunday – a claim that was initially debunked by Mayorkas and Border Patrol chief Raul Ortiz on Monday, who noted that agents were wielding long reins to control their horses in difficult riverines.

Other Border Patrol sources have noted that agents will spin or twirl their reins in order to move the horse forward as a signal to the horse. So far no images have been presented of migrants being hit by the reins.

However, as the White House condemned the images, by Tuesday Mayorkas had changed his stance.

"I was horrified by what I saw," Mayorkas told CNN. "I'm going to let the investigation run its course. But the pictures that I observed troubled me profoundly. That defies all of the values that we seek to instill in our people."

On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris said she supported an investigation and was "deeply troubled" by the allegations.