处于争议中心的美国边境巡逻队特工源于他们对马的使用据一名执法官员称，在事件发生一个多月后，阻止海地移民进入美国的措施尚未受到质疑。
骑行巡逻人员用马驱赶移民(大多是海地人)的画面引发了全国性的争议，因为今年9月，前所未有的数量试图越过格兰德河进入德克萨斯州的边境小镇德尔里奥。图片曝光后不久，美国国土安全部就对此事展开了内部调查。
国土安全部部长亚历杭德罗·马约卡斯承诺在一个多月前对马匹巡逻队进行迅速调查，并向立法者保证几天后会有结果。截至本文发表之时，尽管美国广播公司新闻多次要求置评，但政府尚未公开宣布任何调查结果。
两名未被授权公开发言的官员表示，海关和边境保护局专业责任办公室的初步调查结果已移交给司法部，以确定是否有理由提出刑事指控。
一名执法官员表示，在美国检察官做出决定之前，内部调查无法进行，直接参与的特工也无法接受采访。
转介给美国律师在联邦执法人员事务中很常见，不一定表示正在考虑刑事指控。包括德尔里奥在内的德克萨斯州西区美国检察官办公室拒绝置评。
“调查正在进行中，”DHS发言人在给美国广播公司新闻的一份声明中说。「本署致力推行彻底、独立及客观的程序。我们还致力于提高透明度，一旦调查完成，我们将公布调查结果。”
迄今为止，移民和代理人的倡导者都对调查的速度感到沮丧。
司法行动中心创始人卡伦·图姆林(Karen Tumlin)表示，一个核心问题是，政府在进行调查的时间内，已经驱逐了联邦警察暴行的潜在证人。
“这种延迟造成了‘眼不见，心不烦’的问题，”图姆林说。“这是他们的意图。”
在两周的时间里移民涌入德尔里奥根据国土安全部的数据，边境官员拦截了大约29，000辆。超过15 000人要么自己返回墨西哥，要么被快速驱逐航班送往海地。约1800人被美国移民和海关执法局拘留，约13000人被释放，条件是向当局报告。
边境巡逻队特工兼工会领导人乔恩·安芬森(Jon Anfinsen)证实，骑警仍在履行行政职责，他说这影响了该部队执行正常巡逻工作的能力。
众议院国土安全委员会共和党高级成员、众议员约翰·卡特科(John Katko)表示，马约尔卡斯和总统乔·拜登(Joe Biden)对涉案特工的判断过于迅速。
“在听到他们的说法之前，他们没有浪费时间诽谤这些特工，”Katko在给ABC新闻的一份声明中说。“本届政府在没有全面了解事实的情况下，继续诋毁和打击执法部门，这是可耻的。”
尽管拜登政府对内部调查的结果保持沉默，但在德克萨斯州的德尔里奥，马匹巡逻队似乎已经恢复运行。在冲突后的几天里，在德尔里奥国际大桥停止了马匹巡逻。
白宫新闻秘书珍·普萨基上个月明确宣布在德尔里奥停止使用边境巡逻马，称之为“政策变化”DHS官员当时澄清说，这只是暂时的暂停。
普萨基在9月23日的白宫新闻发布会上说:“今天早上早些时候，国务卿还向民权领袖传达，我们将不再在德尔里奥使用马匹。"因此，这是一种回应，一种政策上的改变."
一名未被授权讨论此事的CBP官员公开质疑普萨基的描述。
“他们把所有的马匹巡逻人员都拉了一天左右来处理，”这位官员说，他指的是当移民涌入该地区时，巡逻人员必须履行的行政职责。“然后，除了几个受到审查的代理人之外，整个部门都恢复了正常。”
CBP助理专员路易斯·米兰达说，在德尔里奥市，马匹巡逻仍处于暂停状态。但是，在德尔里奥边境巡逻区周围约55，000平方英里的土地上，它仍在继续使用。
A照片已发布10月7日，USBP德尔里奥区的脸书页面显示，骑在马背上的边境巡逻人员拘留了一群蜷缩在地上的人。
Border agents seen in controversial photos on horseback not yet questioned: Source
The U.S. Border Patrol agents at the center of a controversystemming from their use of horsesto block Haitian migrants from entering the U.S. have not yet been questioned more than a month after the incident took place, according to a law enforcement official.
Images of mounted patrol agents using their horses to push back migrants, mostly Haitian, stirred national controversy as an unprecedented number attempted to cross the Rio Grande into the small border town of Del Rio, Texas, in September. The Department of Homeland Security launched an internal investigation into the matter shortly after the images came out.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas promised a swift investigation into the horse patrol over a month ago, assuring lawmakers it would yield findings days later. As of publication, and despite multiple requests for comment from ABC News, the administration has not publicly announced any findings.
Preliminary findings from Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility have been handed over to the Justice Department to determine if criminal charges are warranted, according to two officials who were not authorized to speak publicly.
One law enforcement official said the internal investigation could not proceed, and the agents directly involved could not be interviewed, until the U.S. attorney makes a determination.
Referrals to U.S. attorneys are common in federal law enforcement personnel matters and do not necessarily indicate that criminal charges are being considered. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, which includes Del Rio, declined to comment.
"The investigation is ongoing," a DHS spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News. "The Department is committed to a thorough, independent, and objective process. We are also committed to transparency and will release the results of the investigation once it is complete."
Advocates for both migrants and the agents have been frustrated with the pace of the investigation so far.
Karen Tumlin, founder of the Justice Action Center, said a central concern is that the government has deported potential witnesses to federal police brutality in the time it has taken to conduct the investigation.
"[The delay] creates an 'out of sight, out of mind' issue," Tumlin said. "That was their intention."
Over the two-week period thatmigrants surged into Del Rio, border officials stopped about 29,000 of them, according to the Department of Homeland Security. More than 15,000 either returned to Mexico on their own or were sent to Haiti on rapid expulsion flights. About 1,800 were placed in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention and some 13,000 were released on conditions to report back to authorities.
Jon Anfinsen, a Border Patrol agent and union leader, confirmed the mounted patrol agents remain on administrative duties, which he said has impacted the unit's ability to perform their normal patrol work.
Congressman John Katko, Republican ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Mayorkas and President Joe Biden were too quick to judge the agents involved.
“They wasted no time in vilifying these agents before hearing their side of the story,” Katko said in a statement to ABC News. “It’s shameful that this Administration continues to denigrate and demoralize law enforcement without a full picture of the facts.”
The horse patrol appears to be back up and running in Del Rio, Texas, despite silence from the Biden administration on the results of the internal probe. Use of the horse patrol was stopped at the Del Rio International Bridge in the days following the confrontations.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki was unequivocal in announcing the end to the use of Border Patrol horses in Del Rio last month, calling it a "policy change." DHS officials clarified at the time that it was only a temporary suspension.
"The secretary also conveyed to civil rights leaders earlier this morning that we would no longer be using horses in Del Rio," Psaki said at a Sept. 23 White House press briefing. "So that is something -- a policy change that has been made in response."
A CBP official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly disputed Psaki's characterization.
"They pulled all horse patrol agents for maybe a day or so to process," the official said referring to the administrative duties agents are required to perform when migrants flood the area. "Then it was right back to normal sector-wide, with the exception of a couple more agents under scrutiny."
CBP Assistant Commissioner Luis Miranda said the horse patrol remains suspended in the city of Del Rio. But it continues to be used across some 55,000 square miles of the surrounding Del Rio Border Patrol Sector.
Aphoto postedto the USBP Del Rio Sector's Facebook page on Oct. 7 shows Border Patrol agents on horseback detaining a group of men huddled on the ground.
