随着拜登政府继续努力应对边境海地移民的激增，一些图像浮出水面，显示了美国边境巡逻队特工骑马控制河流周围人群的策略。
来自新闻媒体的视频路透社和半岛电视台似乎显示了一名边境巡逻人员朝一名移民的方向拉了拉马缰绳，该移民随后蹒跚着返回格兰德河。但从视频中还不清楚这名特工是否只是在用缰绳控制马，防止它掉进水里。有人看到这名特工骑着马在河入口来回踱步。
美国国土安全部部长亚历杭德罗·马约尔卡斯周一表示，该部正在调查这一事件，并将在必要时做出回应。在周一下午的新闻发布会上，边境巡逻队队长劳尔·奥尔蒂斯为骑马巡逻的使用辩护，称骑马巡逻是执法部门在边境难以到达的地区保持能见度的重要工具。
“这里的马巡逻队将在安全反应中发挥不可或缺的作用，”奥尔蒂斯说。
“因此，边境巡逻人员为自己和移民人口保持一定程度的安全是很重要的，”他补充说。
周一晚些时候，美国国土安全部的一名发言人表示，海关和边境保护局的专业责任办公室正在调查这一事件，并向一家独立的联邦监察机构发出了警报。
这位发言人说:“这段视频极其令人不安，从全面调查中了解到的事实将会迅速展开，并将确定采取的适当纪律行动。
马约尔卡斯前往德克萨斯州的德尔里奥，在过去一周，那里有超过14000名移民涌入边境，他向拜登政府保证局势得到控制，并警告另一边的移民不要非法越境。根据向德尔里奥地方当局提供的官方最新消息，目前约有10，400名移民在营地。
“我们已经重申，我们的边境没有开放，人们不应该进行危险的旅行，”马约卡斯在周一的新闻发布会上说。
部长几乎没有提供联邦政府如何应对这些努力的新细节。然而，他确实注意到，为了处理那些已经抵达的难民，已经向该地区提供了大量资源。
Mayorkas说，具体来说，美国每天将使用至少1至3个航班来遣返移民，政府称这些移民没有有效的理由留在美国。一位熟悉计划的消息人士说，每天可以使用多达7个航班。
“如果需要额外的工作人员，将会派出更多的人员，”Mayorkas说。
DHS甚至向五角大楼寻求帮助，为移民争取更多的航空旅行。国土安全部将使用和退还与军方签订合同的飞机，而不是军用飞机本身。
2010年至2012年间，大规模地震摧毁了海地，大批移民离开海地前往南美。许多现在到达德克萨斯州的人已经有十年没有在海地生活了。根据移民政策研究所的数据，墨西哥也出现了来自海地国民的庇护申请激增，去年约有13，000份申请。
根据美国联邦法律第42章的一部分，大多数过境者继续面临被驱逐，政府以公共健康的名义利用该法律限制移民。移民倡导者称使用公共卫生秩序违反了移民应有的人道主义保护。
“当地团体、信仰机构、大学、企业和整个社区都表现出了更强的领导力，欢迎难民比我们近年来在白宫看到的任何一个都多，”大赦国际美国执行主任保罗·奥布莱恩周一在一份声明中说美国能够也必须做得更好。"
政府当局亦正考虑请求来自得克萨斯州州长格雷格·阿博特消息，总统乔·拜登宣布该州进入紧急状态。灾难声明将允许对该地区已经紧张的官方存在提供额外的联邦援助。
Migrant surge continues to test authorities in south Texas
As the Biden administration continues to grapple with a surge of Haitian migrants on the border, images have surfaced showing the tactics used by the U.S. Border Patrol agents riding horses to control the crowd around the river.
Video from news outletsReutersandAl Jazeeraappear to show a Border Patrol agent as he snaps his horse's reins in the direction of a migrant who then stumbles back into the Rio Grande. But it's unclear from the video if the agent was simply using his reins to control the horse and prevent it from falling into the water. The agent is seen repeatedly pacing back and forth across the river entrance on horseback.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Monday that the department is investigating the incident and will respond if needed. At a press conference Monday afternoon, Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz defended the use of horseback patrol as a vital tool for law enforcement to maintain visibility in hard-to-reach areas of the border.
"The horse patrol units down here are going to play an integral role in the security response," Ortiz said.
"So it's important that the Border Patrol agents maintain a level of security for themselves and for the migrant population," he added.
Later on Monday a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility is investigating the incident and had alerted an independent federal watchdog.
"The footage is extremely troubling and the facts learned from the full investigation, which will be conducted swiftly, will define the appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken," the spokesperson said.
Mayorkas traveled to Del Rio, Texas, where more than 14,000 migrants surged the border over the past week, to make assurances that the Biden administration has the situation under control and to warn migrants on the other side not to cross illegally. About 10,400 migrants are currently at the encampment, according to official updates provided to local authorities in Del Rio.
"We have reiterated that our borders are not open and people should not make the dangerous journey," Mayorkas said at a press conference Monday.
The secretary provided few new details about how the federal government was responding to the efforts. He did however note the surge in resources that have been brought to the area in an effort to process those who have arrived.
Specifically, Mayorkas said, the U.S. would use at least one to three flights per day to remove migrants who the government says did not have a valid claim to stay in the U.S. A source familiar with the plans said as many as seven flights per day could be used.
"If additional staff is needed, more will be sent," Mayorkas said.
DHS has even asked the Pentagon for help in securing additional air travel for the migrants. Aircraft under contract with the military, not military planes themselves, would be used and refunded by homeland security.
Large groups of migrants left Haiti for South America between 2010 and 2012 after a massive earthquake devastated the country. Many arriving now in Texas have not lived in Haiti in about a decade. Mexico has also seen a surge in asylum applications from Haitian nationals with about 13,000 filed this past year, according to the Migration Policy Institute.
The majority of those crossing continue to face removal under a part of U.S. federal law known as Title 42, which the administration has used to restrict migration in the name of public health. Immigrant advocates have called the use of the public health order a violation of the humanitarian protections that migrants are due.
"Local groups, faith-based institutions, universities, businesses and entire communities have shown greater leadership in welcomingrefugeesthan any we have seen from the White House in recent years," Amnesty International USA Executive Director Paul O'Brien said in a statement Monday. "The U.S. can and we must do better."
The administration is also considering arequestfrom Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that President Joe Biden declare an emergency in the state. A disaster declaration would allow for additional federal assistance for the already strained official presence in the area.
