Alejandro Mayorkas Informed No Haitians ’Whipped’ Before Repeating Claims at WH Press Conference

The Heritage Foundation obtained an email from September 24, 2021, which showed the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, had received an email from Marsha Espinosa, assistant secretary of DHS public affairs which showed no whipping had occurred.

In the email was an article that stated the photographer who took the pictures of the Border Patrol agents on horseback said they saw no whipping. This was after President Joe Biden had gone on camera to condemn the “whippings” which never occurred.

After receiving the email Myorkas joined a White House press congruence with Jen Psaki and he continued on with the “whipping” narrative.

Mayorkas said in the briefing, “Our nation saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are. We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism.”

“The images horrified us in terms of what they suggest and what they conjure up,” Mayorkas said.

According to Fox News, “Mayorkas, earlier in the week, had spoken alongside Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz, and had defended the agents – even pointing out that agents use long reins to control their horses, not as whips. But by the end of the week, that clarification was abandoned.”

At the press conference, he was asked about the discrepancy between the photographer’s claim and the president’s statement. To which he replied, “The horses have long reins, and the image in the photograph that we all saw, and that horrified the nation, raised serious questions about what…occurred and as I stated quite clearly, it conjured up images of what has occurred in the past.”

He continued, “There’s also a question of how one uses the horse and how one interacts with individuals with the horse, and so I’m going to let the investigation run its course.”

The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project filed a FIOA with DHS in March requesting all communication regarding the whipping incident. Initially, DHS didn’t supply the documents and so Heritage Foundation sued in June and the emails were turned over.

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told Fox News, “It clearly shows they are willing to lie to the American people for their self interests. They withheld facts and anytime you withhold facts from the American people… you should step down from your job. Better men step down. This clearly shows they are not better men.”

He also called the evidence a “smoking gun”.

The matter was investigated and “no evidence” of whipping or even striking a migrant were found. However, the three agents on horseback as well s a supervisor are all facing discipline of a 3 to14 day unpaid suspension according to Fox News.

From the released email it may lead many to believe the narrative will be pushed by the White House no matter what the facts say.