Why Is Punishing Mounted Border Patrol Officers Wrong?

             My VIPs for this week are the men and women who work to secure the southern border of the United States, particularly the mounted Border Patrol. When videos were released showing thousands of Haitian migrants under the International Bridge at Del Rio, Texas, mounted Border Patrol officers were sent to stop them from crossing the river.

            The officers on horse back were doing their job when photographers took videos and picture that sent the city dudes of the eastern United States into spasms. One picture showed an officer using split reins to control his horse, and he was waving the reins in the air as he used his horse to stop migrants from entering the United States. However, the unknowing eastern dudes did not know the difference between split reins and a whip and threw fits.

            President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris did what they do best – made it a racial matter and condemned the officers without knowing any other details than the pictures. Biden said that the officers would pay for treating the migrants with such disrespect, and the U.S. Border Patrol suspended horse patrols in Del Rio, Texas, temporarily.

            Border Patrol officers are understandably upset with Biden because they know that they were not whipping and mistreating the migrants. Americans with knowledge about horses are also upset with him. He needs to keep his mouth shut until he has enough facts to make an intelligent statement.

            The entire incident – the 17,000+ migrants living under the bridge and the use of horse patrol to stop more migrants from crossing into the United States – could have been prevented by the borders being controlled by the federal government. Texas Governor Greg Abbott blamed the incident on the Biden administration. “Because the Biden administration is doing nothing to secure our border, it has been the state of Texas that has had to step up and address this challenge.” 

            The State of Texas under the leadership of Abbott stopped the migrants from entering Texas by making a steel “wall” with police and trooper cars and National Guard vehicles. Abbott signed a bill for $3 billion dollars to secure the border and protect Texans and all Americans from further hordes of migrants crossing the border illegally. Abbott also promised to hire any Border Patrol officers who lose their positions by simply doing the job they are hired to do.