NY Times issues major correction after claiming Border Patrol agents used horse reins 'to strike' migrants

The New York Times issued a significant correction Friday on a story involving mounted Border Patrol agents allegedly whipping Haitian migrants in Del Rio, Texas.

What are the details?

The New York Times published a story Friday centering on President Joe Biden's remarks about the controversy. Earlier in the day, Biden promised that Border Patrol agents involved in the incident would "pay" for their actions.

"It's outrageous," Biden said. "I promise you, those people will pay. There will be an investigation, underway now, and there will be consequences. There will be consequences."

PAUL RATJE/AFP via Getty Images

In describing the actions of the Border Patrol agents, the New York Times embellished what Border Patrol agents had actually done. In fact, the so-called "newspaper of record" claimed that mounted agents had struck Haitian migrants.

"The images of agents on horseback chasing, & in some cases using the reins of their horses to strike at running migrants," the paper reported.

However, that was not true. More importantly, the photographer who snapped the infamous images of the skirmish between Border Patrol and the Haitian migrants had already said, before the Times published its story, that he did not witness the alleged abuse of Haitian migrants.

What did the Times do?

The Times edited its story and published a correction. The correction admits that the Times "overstated" what had occurred in Del Rio.

In fact, the correction admits what was already known at the time the story was published: There was no evidence that Border Patrol agents had struck migrants.

"An earlier version of this article overstated what is known about the behavior of some Border Patrol agents on horseback," the correction stated. "While the agents waved their reins while pushing migrants back into the Rio Grande, The Times has not seen conclusive evidence that migrants were struck with the reins."

The paragraph in question now syas that Border Patrol agents were "waving their reins."

Images of Border Patrol agents on horseback waving their reins while pushing migrants back into the Rio Grande have prompted a torrent of criticism from Democrats and civil rights groups who have accused Mr. Biden of continuing some of the most aggressive approaches to immigration put in place by President Donald J. Trump.

Anything else?

Not only did the photographer debunk the false narrative about the mounted Border Patrol agents, but an Associated Press journalist who recorded the incident released video that she took of the skirmish.

The video showed that Border Patrol agents did not strike or abuse the migrants.