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US News

Abbott says Texas will hire Border Patrol agents punished by Biden

By
Mark Moore
Published Sep. 26, 2021, 4:15 p.m. ET

​Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the Lone Star State will hire any Border Patrol agents who fear being fired after President Biden said they “will pay” for their treatment of Haitians at the border, amid false claims they used their horses’ reins as whips. 

​”You have a job in the state of Texas. I will hire you to help Texas secure our border​,” Abbott, a Republican, said on “Fox News Sunday.”​

He said the Biden administration put the Border Patrol agents in a difficult situation because it failed to enforce the country’s immigration laws and secure the border.

“The person who took those pictures said that the characterization that the Democrats have made about the Border Patrol using them as whips, whipping people who were coming across the border is false. They were simply maneuvering horses,” Abbott continued. 

Texas Governor Greg Abbott says that he will hire those Border Patrol Agents who fear retribution from President Biden over treatment of migrants at the border.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott says that he will hire those Border Patrol Agents who fear retribution from President Biden over treatment of migrants at the border. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo
Photos from the US-Mexico border sparked outrage with some depicting agents using horse reigns like whips on migrants.
Photos from the US-Mexico border sparked outrage with some depicting agents using horse reigns like whips on migrants. PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images
The photographer, Paul Ratije, confirmed they are indeed reigns but understands how the viewer might misconstrue it.
The photographer, Paul Ratije, confirmed they are indeed reigns but understands how the viewer might misconstrue it. PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images

He said if the agents are at risk of losing their jobs because of a “president who is abandoning his duty to secure the border, you have a job in Texas.”

Images released last week showed mounted Border Patrol agents guiding their horses to prevent Haitian migrants from crossing the Rio Grande River near Del Rio, Texas, and Democrats seized on the photos to accuse the agents of using the reins like whips. 

The photographer, Paul Ratije, acknowledged that the agents were “swinging” the reins, but said “it can be misconstrued when you’re looking at the picture.”

Abbott said the Biden administration put the Border Patrol agents in a difficult situation because it failed to enforce the country's immigration laws.
Abbott said the Biden administration put the Border Patrol agents in a difficult situation because it failed to enforce the country’s immigration laws. AP Photo/Julio Cortez
A U.S. border patrol officer grabs the shirt of a migrant trying to return to the United States along the Rio Grande.
A U.S. border patrol officer grabs the shirt of a migrant trying to return to the United States along the Rio Grande. REUTERS/Daniel Becerril/File Photo
US Border Patrol watch migrants cross into the United States through the Rio Grande River.
US Border Patrol watch migrants cross into the United States through the Rio Grande River. John Moore/Getty Images

“I didn’t ever see them whip anybody with the thing,” he said.

Biden called their use of the reins an “embarrassment” and said an investigation was underway.  

“It was horrible what you see, what you saw — to see people treated like they did, with horses nearly running them over and people being strapped. It’s outrageous. I promise you, those people will pay,” he said​ last Friday. ​

Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande on September 19, 2021.
Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande on September 19, 2021. PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images

Abbott said the administration’s inability to ​control the border leaves him with no option.

“I am going to step up and do whatever I have to do to make sure that I protect the people of Del Rio, as well as all these other communities in the state of Texas that the Biden administration is ignoring​,” he said on Fox News. ​​

“The Biden administration cares far more about people who are not in this country than he does ​for the people​ — American citizens who live in this country. And I’m going to step up and support the citizens of the United States of America​,” Abbott said.