Report finds ‘unnecessary’ force by agents at Rio Grande

WASHINGTON — U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback engaged in “unnecessary use of force” against non-threatening Haitian immigrants but didn’t whip any with their reins “intentionally or otherwise,” according to a federal investigation of chaotic scenes along the Texas-Mexico border last fall that sparked widespread condemnation. In a 511-page report released Friday, Customs and Border Protection blamed a “lack of command control and communication” for mounted agents using their horses to forcibly block and move migrants during an influx of Haitians arriving last September at the U.S. border outside Del Rio, Texas. “We’re gonna learn from this incident and we’ll find a way to do better,” CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said during a news conference announcing the report. “There is an investigation underway right now and there will be consequences.” Asked if the politically charged environment marred the investigation, Magnus said “it was inevitable, certainly not surprising, that there was going to be a reaction to that from the community, from those in the media from elected officials, from different advocacy groups.” But he said he instructed investigators “that all of these things were to be put aside, to be disregarded.” “I was counting on them to do a fair, through, comprehensive investigation with no attention to this outside influence,” Magnus said.