White House’s swift action curbs attacks on Texas border protocols.

The Biden White House Learns from Past Mistakes in Responding to Allegations Against Texas Border Protocols

The Biden White House appears to be taking notes from its reaction to 2021’s Border Patrol “whip” scandal in ⁤how it responds to recent ​allegations made against new “inhumane” Texas border protocols.

The president’s team is eager to take issue with how Texas is approaching illegal immigration under a Republican governor who is a frequent target‍ of White House jibes, but it is haunted‌ by its past rush to judgment.

Lessons from the ‌”Whip” Scandal

In 2021, images taken of ⁣U.S. ⁤Customs and Border Protection agents​ on horseback rounding up illegal border crossing migrants in the Rio Grande Valley quickly went viral, prompting liberals and immigration​ activists⁤ to accuse ​CBP of whipping migrants with reins.

The allegations ​were quickly rejected by the photographer who⁤ took‌ them, and an internal ⁣CBP investigation concluded the same in September of the following year.

Still, multiple Biden administration officials, including ‍both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, were quick to condemn the alleged incident⁣ in⁣ the ​summer of 2021, and the White House never publicly acknowledged promising‍ punitive action‍ for the Border Patrol agents in question prior to the investigation’s conclusion.

“As we all know, it evoked‍ images of​ some of the ​worst moments of ⁤our history where that kind of behavior has⁤ been used against the indigenous people of our country, has been used against African Americans during times of slavery,” Harris said at the time.

“It’s horrible what you ⁢saw. To see ‌people like they did, with ​horses, running them over, people being strapped, it’s outrageous,” Biden​ added.⁤ “I promise you, those people will pay. There is an investigation underway right now, and there will be consequences.”

Reporting from October 2022, after the⁣ CBP investigation concluded, additionally alleged that Department of⁣ Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was aware⁤ that the photographer, ‍whose photos sparked the controversy,​ had contacted DHS and disputed claims made by activists. However, Mayorkas did not make that dissent public.

“Our nation saw horrifying images that do not reflect who we are,” he instead said during a press conference on Sept. 24, the same day ‌he was notified of the photographer’s objections. “We know that those images painfully conjured up the worst elements of⁢ our nation’s ongoing battle against systemic ⁢racism.”

Following the release of⁤ CBP’s findings into the incident, Mayorkas claimed to have ⁢made his initial comments “without having‌ seen the images.”

New Allegations and the ​White House Response

This week, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre offered notably different responses when questioned about new reports that ⁢Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) had installed razor ⁤wire along the southern border, ordered Texas officials to push migrants back into the Rio Grande rather than‍ let them cross onto U.S. soil, and deprive immigrants in custody of ​food and⁢ water.

Though Jean-Pierre has strongly condemned Abbott’s orders, she has repeatedly declined to echo claims from some, including the Mexican ⁣government, that Abbott is⁤ violating⁣ international law. ⁣She has also declined to say whether the White House has determined the reports credible or not.

“We saw those reports, clearly. If they are true, ‌it is abhorrent, ​it is despicable, it is dangerous, and we’re ⁣talking about the bedrock⁢ values‍ of who we are ⁣as a country, and the indecency, the human indecency that we’re seeing, ⁣potentially, if this is ⁣true,‌ is⁣ just ⁢wrong. It is ⁤just completely, completely wrong,” she told reporters during Tuesday’s press briefing. “But I ⁢would say, sadly, it would not be surprising from a governor who, let’s not forget, on Christmas Eve, put migrant children on the streets in ⁢below-zero-degree temperature. That’s what we saw from this governor, but again, we don’t know if this is true, if the reporting is true, but it is truly troubling to hear this type of reporting.”

“As it relates to any legal action, that’s something that Department⁣ of Justice is going to certainly look into or has to deal with,” Jean-Pierre added during Wednesday’s briefing when ⁣asked ⁢if the administration would take any action against Abbott. ⁤”As it ‌relates to the indecent, inhumane way ‍that migrants are being taken — you know, the actions that are being taken against them, I can continue to condemn them here, right? We’ve done that in ‍the most strongest terms, and so I’ll just leave it from there ‍at the moment.”

The White ‌House declined to comment for⁢ this story, but a veteran Democratic strategist familiar with the Biden team’s thinking told the ‌Washington Examiner that it’s “obvious” the more muted reaction to these new reports comes in response to the “egg‍ on their face” caused by ⁣the whipping‍ scandal.

“Pushing people into the river and denying children water ⁣is arguably worse than what was alleged back in 2021,” the strategist stated. “But the White House has been hesitant to ‍outwardly‍ promise retribution against​ Abbott, ‌as activists are openly calling for. It’s not ⁢rocket science. These two ‍dots are connected.”

Mayorkas remains the sole senior Biden official to acknowledge‌ publicly the mishandling of the 2021 ​situation.

During a May 2023 press briefing at the White⁤ House, Mayorkas abruptly corrected a ‌reporter who once again brought up the 2021‌ allegations.

“Well, let me just correct you right there because actually the investigation ⁤concluded that the whipping did not​ occur,” he⁢ told reporter April Ryan, who pressed on with her questioning.

“I’m sorry, I‌ saw it differently.⁢ They were whipped with something from the horse — reins​ from the horse,”⁤ she responded to‍ Mayorkas. “Maybe either the video or picture was⁢ fixed, but what I saw was totally ⁤different.”

“Yeah, I’m going to leave you as corrected,” he concluded.