The agents on horseback who chased migrants used unnecessary force, a report finds

Border Patrol agents on horseback engaged in "unnecessary use of force" against non-threatening Haitian immigrants last year, according to a federal investigation. However, the agents didn't whip any with their reins, the report said. (Felix Marquez/AP)

WASHINGTON — U.S. Border Patrol agents on horseback engaged in "unnecessary use of force" against non-threatening Haitian immigrants but didn't whip any with their reins "intentionally or otherwise," according to a federal investigation of chaotic scenes along the Texas-Mexico border last fall that sparked widespread condemnation.

In a 511-page report released Friday, Customs and Border Protection blamed a "lack of command control and communication" for mounted agents using their horses to forcibly block and move migrants during an influx of Haitians arriving last September at the U.S. border outside Del Rio, Texas.