WASHINGTON, 27 September 2021, (TON): Images which appear to show border agents on horseback driving migrants back to a river like cattle have sparked an investigation in the US.

The pictures widely shared on social media show the riders using their reins against the migrants and pushing them back towards the Rio Grande in Texas.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says his department will investigate reports of alleged abuse.

He said “the officers were trying to manage the migrants crossing the river.”

Some 13,000 mainly Haitian migrants have gathered in a makeshift camp under a bridge connecting Del Rio to Mexico's Ciudad Acuña on the US-Mexico border.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said “the footage was horrible to watch.”

"I have seen some of the footage. I don't have the full context. I can't imagine what context would make that appropriate. But I don't have additional details and certainly I don't think anyone seeing that footage would think it was acceptable or appropriate."

US flies Haitian migrants back from Texas border

A United States Border Patrol agent on horseback tries to stop a Haitian migrant from entering an encampment on the banks of the Rio Grande near the Acuna Del Rio International Bridge in Del Rio, Texas, on 19 September 2021.