It is "absolutely disgusting" that the Biden administration has demobilized units of Border Patrol agents using horses for policing in Del Rio, Texas, because of the outcry from Democratic politicians, Rep. Brian Babin told Newsmax.
"They were trained to do what they were doing to keep illegal aliens and illegal migrants from coming into our nation, many of whom are hard-core criminals," the Texas Republican said Thursday on "American Agenda."
"To take them off the line is just about the exact equivalent to what the Democratic Party has been doing to our police departments for the last year-and-a-half, demonizing the funding and just demoralizing them."
On Thursday, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it was demobilizing the horse patrols temporarily after video surfaced of the methods being used to disperse Haitian migrants, CBS News reports.
The suspension comes after videos showed Border Patrol agents swinging long leads while they were trying to stop the migrants from entering the country, leading critics to say they were using whips on them.
Babin told Newsmax that the Border Patrol agents were "well-trained individuals on horseback" and that they did not use whips.
He also slammed claims from the administration that the border is no less secure under President Joe Biden than it was during former President Donald Trump's tenure.
"That's the biggest whopper I believe I've heard in about 25 years," Babin said. "They said that as there were 25,000 illegal immigrants camped out. On our side of the Rio Grande, and they're down to about 7,000.
"Now from what I understand ... they have released most of these individuals into the country. This is what they're trying to do. This is their strategy to open this border up."
The congressman said he also thinks it will be up to the state of Texas, rather than the federal government, to secure the border.
"It's constitutionally sound," Babin said. "Article 4, Section 4 [of the Constitution] enables states to protect themselves from invasion, because this is exactly what is happening."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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