Psaki Says Border Patrol Agents Will No Longer Be Using Horses in Del Rio, Texas

ZELENY: “What does he believe of the comparisons being made between his administration and the Trump Administration? You saw Congressman Maxine Waters today saying this is Trump’s policy. Several other Democrats are saying this looks like the previous administration. What does he think of those comments?”

PSAKI: “Well, what our role is, and with the President asked his outreach team, members of his national security team, Homeland Security team to do, is to explain clearly what our policy is and what our policy is not. We could not see it as any more different from the policy of the prior administration, which the President feels, we all feel was inhumane, immoral, ineffective, not operationally, wasn’t operationally working. And because of the dysfunction of it, we have led to a very broken system that we’re dealing with today. So what he has asked all of us to convey clearly to people who understandably have questions, are passionate, are concerned, as we are, about the images that we have seen, is one, we feel those images are horrible and horrific. There is an investigation the President certainly supports, overseen by this that the Department of Homeland Security, which he has conveyed will happen quickly. I can also convey to you that the Secretary also conveyed to civil rights leaders earlier this morning that we would no longer be using horses in Del Rio. So that is something, a policy change that has been made in response. But separately, all related, it’s also important for people to understand what our process and our immigration process is and what the steps are that are taken. We are still under Title 42 because we are in a global pandemic, so we are still operationalizing that. If people are not expelled under that, then there are a range of options: either they are put into an alternative to detention where their biometric data is required, they are required to — they are given a notice to appear or they are given — or they are put in an ICE facility. This is the process that is ongoing and has happened for every other migrant who has attempted to come irregularly across the border.”