Hey, Whatever Happened to That Investigation of Those Border Patrol Agents?

 President Biden, discussing a purported image of U.S. Border Patrol officials allegedly whipping Haitian migrants, September 24:

It was horrible what — to see, as you saw — to see people treated like they did: horses nearly running them over and people being strapped. It’s outrageous. I promise you, those people will pay. They will be — an investigation is underway now, and there will be consequences. There will be consequences. It’s an embarrassment. But beyond an embarrassment, it’s dangerous; it’s wrong. It sends the wrong message around the world.

On September 21, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas appeared on Joy Reid’s program on MSNBC and declared that, “We need this resolved swiftly. I anticipate that the results of the investigation will be available by the end of next week and I’ve committed to making the results public.”

The next day, Mayorkas told Congress the investigation would be completed within days.

Mayorkas told the House Homeland Security Committee that an undisclosed number of agents had been placed on administrative duty as investigators examine confrontations in which some mounted agents appeared to use their reins as whips against migrants who have been surging into Del Rio, Texas.

“I want to assure you that we are addressing this with tremendous speed and tremendous force,” Mayorkas said. “The facts will drive the action we take.”

“It will be completed in days – not weeks,” he added.

Today is November 1. In the past five weeks or so, the Department of Homeland Security has not released any results of their investigation. DHS has not resolved the investigation swiftly, nor have they made the results public, nor have they provided any updates on the status of the investigation. The lack of information from DHS makes sense if, as the photographer states, there was no whipping of the migrants, and that the entire controversy stemmed from people misinterpreting what was happening in a photograph. However, if that is the case, DHS has a responsibility to correct the record and clear the names of the Border Patrol agents who are falsely accused of cruel and criminal behavior. The president of the United States would also want to apologize for his role in spreading a false accusation.

But I would not hold my breath waiting for that apology.