Zuckerberg-Funded Groups Sue Border Patrol Over Del Rio 'Whipping'

A pro-migration advocacy group is suing the U.S. Border Patrol for supposedly abusing a Haitian migrant who was photographed while trying to dodge a horse-mounted border patrol officer.

The plaintiffs allege “physical abuse, racial discrimination, denial of basic necessities and medical treatment, and a complete failure to process asylum claims.”

A border patrol officer “lashed at [one Haitian migrant] with split reins,” according to the complaint. The complaint does not allege the border patrol officer actually lashed the migrant.

The lawsuit also challenges the legality of the Trump-era Title 42 immigration policy, which allows law enforcement officials to expel migrant family units from the country. Thousands of Haitian migrants have been flown back home by the federal government since August.

The lawsuit is being filed by groups that get funding from Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook profits.

According to a press release from Justice Action Center, Haitian Bridge Alliance’s Nicole Phillips is one of the attorneys on the case.

Haitian Bridge Alliance receives funding from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI). Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are co-founders and co-CEOs of CZI. Their initiative “makes grants to organizations working in support of our missions in Science, Education, and Justice & Opportunity – as well as giving directed to our local community.”

CZI has awarded approximately $2.9 billion in grants to support institutions. Haitian Bridge Alliance is one of the groups that received funding grants from CZI.

Haitian Bridge Alliance received at least three grants from CZI in 2020, totaling $170,000. First, CZI gave Haitian Bridge a $100,000 grant “for general operating support.” On top of that, CZI gave the organization $20,000 “for COVID-19 rapid response funding.” Finally, Zuckerberg’s initiative granted the Alliance $50,000 for “responsive equity work centering Black migrants and asylum-seekers.”

This group opposes the administration’s policy of flying more Haitian migrants home.

Administration officials adopted that policy after thousands of Haitian migrants pushed across the border river at Del Rio, and after agency officials sent the horse-mounted officers to block further crossings.

The lawsuit’s controversy stems from photos of border patrol agents on horseback chasing down Haitian migrants that went viral in September. Corporate media and Democrat politicians falsely claimed that the border patrol agents used reins to whip the Haitian migrants. However, this narrative was later disproved, which led to the New York Times correcting their story.

The photographer who captured the clash between border patrol officials and the Haitian migrants said his photos have “really been misconstrued.” He also told local news he “didn’t ever see them (the agents) whip anybody.”

Despite the false narrative being debunked, the plaintiffs rely on it in their legal filing. In the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that a border patrol officer “lashed at [one Haitian migrant] with split reins.”

The case is Haitian Bridge Alliance v. Biden, No 1:21-cv-03317, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

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