New report details gruesome human rights violations at US border

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Aug 2023 19:34

Violations of human rights by border agents range from deaths in custody amid unclear circumstances, abusive language, food deprivation, and the forceful separation of families.

The Border Patrol station July 11, 2014, in Harlingen, Texas, US (AP)

A report issued by two Latin America-focused NGOs said Wednesday that violations of human rights by US border police are "persistent" and that the lack or absence of accountability was problematic.

"Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the federal government's largest civilian law enforcement agency, has a persistent problem of human rights abuse without accountability," the report from the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) and the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) read.

Violations of human rights by border agents range from deaths in custody amid unclear circumstances, abusive language, food deprivation, and the forceful separation of families.

"Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the federal government's largest civilian law enforcement agency, has a persistent problem of human rights abuse without accountability," the report said.

Over the past three years, the two NGOs have identified 13 deaths where border officers resorted to force "under circumstances in which it is unclear whether they faced an imminent threat" or "failed to prevent the death of an individual in custody."

In one section of the report where it details how formal complaints to the CBP are often left unsolved, the KBI said it tallied a number of 78 complaints between the years 2020 and 2022.

Only 5 percent of them "led to either policy recommendations or discipline recommended for the agent in question," the report noted.

"We have documented a shocking pattern, including cases of misuse of lethal force, intimidation, sexual harassment, and falsifying documents," report co-author Adam Isacson said in a statement.

"The lack of accountability is so widespread that it helps cement in place a culture that enables human rights violations. The abuses keep coming because impunity is so likely."

The abuses occur in great part when migrants are intercepted by authorities or after turning themselves in.

For instance, when one Salvadoran family turned themselves into a Border Patrol truck, "an agent exited the truck, pulling a gun on the mother, calling them 'terrorists,' 'rats' and 'criminals,'" the report said, adding that "the woman repeated her asylum request to 7 or 8 more agents, was ignored, and told the agents didn't speak Spanish."

Normally, migrants who arrive in the US without proper documentation are held in CBP facilities for up to 72 hours. But in reality, some end up staying in these facilities for a week or more, enduring what they describe as "unsanitary conditions".

Moreover, family separation, although not as frequent as it once was under former President Donald Trump, is still being practiced, the report noted.

In 2022 alone, about 145 children were separated from their parents, data from the Department of Health and Human Services shows.

"While many, if not most CBP officers and Border Patrol agents follow best practices, the study shows frequent and severe alleged abuses," a statement from WOLA and KBI read.

"We believe that it is possible to enact common-sense reforms that stop cruelty and align border governance with democratic values, even at a time when larger national debates on border and immigration policy are polarized," the authors noted.

According to a report released by the US government on January 2, the number of migrants deported in 2022 increased by 29% to 4.7 million.

According to statistics published by the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division pertaining to the Department of Homeland Security, US border guards reportedly detained at least 2.3 million migrants in the last year, a record higher than any previous year.