The photographer who snapped the photos of Border Patrol agents on horseback while trying to apprehend Haitians illegally crossing into the U.S. has spoken out about how the media inappropriately described what he had captured.
The photographer, Paul Ratje, told local outlet KTSM that he has never seen anyone from Border Patrol whipping illegal immigrants, contrary to what media outlets breathlessly and baselessly reported earlier this week. Ratje told the outlet that he was based in Las Cruces, New Mexico but had traveled to Del Rio, Texas on Friday. He said he took the photos from the Mexican side of the border.
“Some of the Haitian men started running, trying to go around the horses,” Ratje told the outlet.
“I’ve never seen them whip anyone,” Ratje added. “He was swinging it, but it can be misconstrued when you’re looking at the picture.”
While journalists claimed the photos showed Border Patrol agents were “whipping” migrants, the photos actually show split reins, not whips. Split reins are used to direct the horse and hang loosely down the horse’s shoulders. When a horse makes a sudden movement, those strips of leather will naturally flow outward, which is what was depicted in the images. In no picture was a Border Patrol agent holding a whip or even holding the reins in a whip-like fashion.