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Bombshell email shows DHS knew 'whipping' story was bogus — but Mayorkas pushed false narrative anyway
October 12, 2022
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas publicly condemned Border Patrol agents accused of "whipping" Haitian migrants despite being informed that those accusations were not true.
What is happening now?
Emails obtained by the Heritage Foundation show that Marsha Espinosa, assistant secretary of DHS public affairs, emailed Mayorkas with information casting doubt on the "whipping" narrative.
Specifically, Espinosa relayed a news story in which the photographer behind the infamous photos, Paul Ratje, debunked the narrative. Espinosa's email was sent at 12:05 p.m on Sept. 24, 2021.
\u201cNEW: Email reveals DHS Secretary Mayorkas was alerted by DHS' top public affairs official that the "whipping" narrative behind horseback BP photos wasn't true, but at a WH press conference 2.5 hours later, he didn't refute that narrative, instead calling the images "horrifying".\u201d— Bill Melugin (@Bill Melugin) 1665581108
By 2:30 p.m. that afternoon, Mayorkas was pushing the clearly false narrative. He said at the White House press briefing:
Our entire nation saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are, who we aspire to be, or the integrity and values of our truly heroic personnel in the Department of Homeland Security.
The investigation into what occurred has not yet concluded. We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic racism.
Moreover, Espinosa's email was sent just two hours after President Joe Biden threatened the Border Patrol agents.
"It was horrible [what] you saw. To see people treated like they did [sic]. Horses nearly running people over and people being strapped," the president said on the morning of Sept. 24, 2021. "It's outrageous. I promise you those people will pay. They will be investigated. There will be consequences."
What about the investigation?
Mayorkas promised a swift investigation into the mounted Border Patrol agents. But more than one year after the incident, the investigation remains ongoing, Fox News noted.
The Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility released a report in July confirming that Border Patrol agents did not, in fact, "whip" Haitian migrants.
CBP said, however, the investigation discovered "failures at multiple levels of the agency, a lack of appropriate policies and training, and unprofessional and dangerous behavior by several individual agents."
After the news of the email broke Wednesday morning, Republican lawmakers reiterated calls for Mayorkas to resign or be impeached.
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Staff Writer
Chris Enloe is a staff writer for Blaze News
chrisenloe
Chris Enloe
Staff Writer
Chris is a staff writer for Blaze News. He resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can reach him at cenloe@blazemedia.com.
@chrisenloe →more stories
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