Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., pushed the misleading image of Border Patrol agents allegedly whipping migrants despite the claims being debunked months prior.
The "Squad" member noted that Monday marked the one-year anniversary of the circulation of a photo that appeared to show Border Patrol agents grabbing and whipping Haitian migrants in Texas.
"This happened one year ago today. #1YearAfterDelRio, we won't stop fighting for *real* accountability & an immigration system that affirms asylum as the fundamental human right that it is," Pressley tweeted.
The image was heavily shared by media pundits and Democrats as an example of cruelty towards illegal immigrants. Following the viral image, the Biden administration ordered the Border Patrol to stop using horses, while the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched an investigation into the agents at the center of the story.
Mounted U.S. Border Patrol agents watch Haitian immigrants on the bank of the Rio Grande in Del Rio, Texas on September 20, 2021, as seen from Ciudad Acuna, Mexico. ((Photo by John Moore/Getty Images))
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However, the photographer behind the image, Paul Ratje, admitted a few days after the scandal emerged that the events have been "misconstrued" by Democrats, explaining that there were no whips on the scene. He also stated that he did not see any agents whipping migrants with the reins on their horses.
The investigation into the Border Patrol agents continued for months after Ratje's account of what happened. The head of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) admitted that there was "no evidence" that Border Patrol agents whipped migrants.
"[DHS' Office of Professional Responsibility] found no evidence Border Patrol agents involved in this incident struck anyone with their reins intentionally or otherwise," CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus said during a July press conference. However, DHS and CBP announced they still planned on punishing the agents involved.
Social media users criticized Pressley for pushing a debunked narrative.
President Joe Biden condemned the images of Border Patrol agents handling Haitian migrants in September 2021 despite no evidence that officers whipped any migrants. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci | AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Conservative commentator Chad Felix Greene tweeted, "They spread embarrassingly bad misinformation while bragging about things they never accomplished... and they do it with smug, self-righteous arrogance, zero professional consequences and get celebrated as heroes by their idiot supporters."
"’This’ being a very dramatic photograph of the everyday tension at the border, but a photograph utterly misrepresented by every Democrat and most news outlets. Is that worth commemorating?" Washington Examiner columnist Tim Carney wrote.
Young America’s Foundation spokesperson Kara Zukus tweeted, "Hi @TwitterSupport, are you planning on flagging this as misinformation?"
"This was debunked a year ago. Why are you trying to make this a hashtag?" Josh Hawley press secretary Abigail Monroe wrote.
Podcast host Gerry Callahan tweeted, "What happened? A border agent did his job? Or are you still spreading the lie that they whipped illegal aliens? Because you know that’s a lie so that would be a pretty scummy thing to do. Even for you."
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On Friday, TheGrio White House correspondent April Ryan also revived the false story while discussing Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., moving illegal immigrants from Florida to Martha’s Vineyard on CNN.
Border Patrol agents have been fired upon in a series of targeted attacks, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency said. (Getty Images)
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"Every time we see these issues of inhumanity to migrants, there's always a serious discussion, and then it falls off. As we've said, the situation is broken. But let's not just leave it here at Joe Biden. Let's go back to the prior president. What happened? People in cages. People in cages. The inhumanity about that. There was a bluster about that. What happened? Then, what was it last year? The reins used as whips. A bluster then. Inhumanity, once again," Ryan said.
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