September 28, 2021: -The Biden administration has halted Border Patrol agents’ use of horses in Del Rio, Texas, between public outcry over video and photos showing mounted agents grabs Haitian migrants who try to cross into the U.S.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told civil rights leaders that the administration “would no longer which uses horses in Del Rio,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters in a briefing.

When asked the reason President Joe Biden has not publicly condemned the images, showing an agent on horseback grabbing a migrant by his shirt, Psaki said the policy change demonstrates that the president finds the pictures “horrific.”

“I think people should take away that his actions make clear how horrible and horrific these images are, include an investigation, which a change of policy, including conveying that this is not acceptable, and he has no plans to go to stand for this in the Biden-Harris administration,” she said.

Mayorkas and Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz rejected allegations that agents used “whips” in a compilation of images and videos that fueled an outcry on social media. They told that the agents were wielding reins to control their horses.

However, the images drew sharp criticism from Democratic lawmakers this week.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., used Twitter to denounce the Border Patrol’s actions.

“It doesn’t matter if a Democrat or Republican is President, our immigration system is designed for cruelty towards and dehumanization of immigrants,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Immigration should not be a crime, and its criminalization is a relatively latest invention.

This is a stain on our country,” he added. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., tweeted this post-Monday.”These are human rights abuses, plain and simple. Cruel, inhumane, and a violation of domestic and international law,” Omar further said.

On Tuesday, Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters that she was “afflicted” by the photos and supported a “thorough investigation” because “human beings should never be treated that way.”