(NewsNation) — Along the San Diego and El Centro border sectors, there are protections in place to thwart human and drug trafficking; though, perhaps not as you’d expect.

With rugged terrain plentiful along the border between the El Centro and San Diego sectors; adjacent to Mexico, mustangs from the Bureau of Land Management are used to shore up the area.

In 2021, the horse border patrol garnered headlines as footage surfaced of border agents allegedly chasing Haitian migrants on horseback.

False accusations then swirled over the unit whipping migrants. They were condemned by prominent figures, including Vice President Kamala Harris.

Since, they have not received any sort of public exoneration notwithstanding the initial condemnation. And yet, work to protect the border’s integrity continues.

El Centro Sector Chief Gregory Bovino told NewsNation the presence of the horse patrol is vital to their objective.

“When I say an integrated team, all of our departments, whether it’s prosecutions, whether it’s intelligence… whether it’s our state and local partners, or whether it’s our foreign partners, we’re integrated for one thing, and one thing only, and that’s mission accomplishment,” he said.

“And that mission, obviously being border security, community safety and national security. So everything we do is towards that mission.”

Despite tough conditions, the El Centro Sector accounts for just 1% of apprehensions along the southern border.

The El Centro Sector horse patrol unit is an essential cog in the fight against trafficking along the border; allowing agents to enter areas otherwise unreachable with a vehicle.