293 Records of Alleged Abusive or Improper Conduct involving “Border Patrol”

Early December 2022

Reporting on December 15, 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) stated, “Over the past 2 weeks, KBI received 11 reports of Border Patrol (BP) confiscating personal belongings and never returning them. These reports include 3 deported people who explained that BP took thousands of Mexican pesos from them (1,000 pesos = $50 USD), leaving them unable to pay for transportation or basic necessities.”

Among cases cited:

When BP apprehended Yael [name changed to protect privacy], agents threw away his clothes and medicine. He had to go 5 days without medication to treat his illness.

— “December 15 update from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, December 15, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Denial of Medical Care, Non-Return of Belongings

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Single Adult

Early December 2022

Reporting on December 15, 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) stated, “Over the past 2 weeks, KBI received 11 reports of Border Patrol (BP) confiscating personal belongings and never returning them. These reports include 3 deported people who explained that BP took thousands of Mexican pesos from them (1,000 pesos = $50 USD), leaving them unable to pay for transportation or basic necessities.”

Among cases cited:

Upon Fernando’s [name changed to protect privacy] apprehension, BP agents took most of his clothes, his phone, wallet and 4,400 Mexican pesos ($221 USD). They transferred him to US Marshals custody, where agents took the rest of his clothes and his Mexican ID and put them in a bag. After his court hearing, he heard agents saying he was to be deported the next day, but he tested positive for COVID and went to isolation for 9 days.

Afterwards, he was held under custody for 13 more days because BP said he had requested asylum, even though he had not. When he had an interview with an asylum officer, Fernando explained he had not requested asylum and wanted to be deported as soon as possible. The officer responded: “If you keep saying that and don’t calm down, you’re going to stay here even longer.” ICE officials then asked Fernando to sign a document saying he had received the $175.65 he had earned by working in detention, but they never gave him the money.

On December 7th, he was deported with none of his belongings, nor the money he had earned. He shared: “I had worked sometimes a shift of 12 hours to earn every $2 of that money.”

— “December 15 update from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, December 15, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Non-Return of Belongings

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Mexico, Single Adult

Early December 2022

Reporting on December 15, 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) stated, “Over the past 2 weeks, KBI staff learned about 5 cases of family separation at the border, a practice that disorients and traumatizes families.”

Among cases cited:

Margarita [name changed to protect privacy], her sister, and her cousin turned themselves in to BP [Border Patrol], seeking protection after fleeing violence in Southern Mexico. BP agents separated them and deported Margarita in one location and her cousin and her sister in another. Margarita was robbed after being deported alone in Nogales.

— “December 15 update from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, December 15, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Family Separation

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Family Unit, Female, Mexico

Early December, 2022

Reporting on December 15, 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) stated, “Over the past 2 weeks, KBI staff learned about 5 cases of family separation at the border, a practice that disorients and traumatizes families.”

Among cases cited:

Tomas [name changed to protect privacy] was traveling with his sister after fleeing violence in Guatemala. After crossing into the US through the desert, his sister lost consciousness and they had to call 911 to get assistance. BP [Border Patrol] agents came to rescue her, but they then separated Tomas from his sister. They were not able to reunite until they were both deported and managed to find one another in Nogales, Sonora.

— “December 15 update from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, December 15, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Family Separation

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Family Unit, Single Adult

December 14, 2022

A Tucson, Arizona federal district judge sentenced former Border Patrol agent Ramon Antonio Monreal Rodriguez to 152 months in prison, and $151,000 in restitution to Border Patrol.

Monreal, who worked at the Three Points Station in Border Patrol’s Tucson Sector, was found guilty of purchasing firearms for felons, and conspiring with Mexican drug traffickers to take their product past Border Patrol checkpoints, often inside his Border Patrol vehicle. According to a December 27, 2022 Justice Department statement, “He admitted to distributing 116 kilograms of cocaine and 107 kilograms of marijuana as part of the conspiracy.” (Original link)

The Arizona Daily Star reported more details of the case in 2019:

Monreal was accused of picking up 90 pounds of cocaine from smugglers in a wash near the San Miguel Gate, a remote border crossing on the Tohono O’odham Reservation, while on duty around 1:30 a.m. Sept. 18. Monreal allegedly handed the smugglers the first payment of $334,000 and kept the cocaine in his Border Patrol vehicle for the rest of his shift.

Four days later, he allegedly went back to the border while on duty and handed over $317,000 to the smugglers. Monreal’s payment was 6 pounds of narcotics and $66,000, a special agent with the FBI wrote in a criminal complaint.

Federal prosecutors also said Monreal tried to arrange the assault of a corrections officer at a federal prison in Southern Arizona who was dating his ex-girlfriend, what Monreal called “a little tune-up” in audio messages recovered by investigators, court records show.

Monreal also asked a drug trafficker to make his ex-girlfriend “disappear.” Monreal was not charged for the alleged threats.

This case was investigated by the Southern Arizona Corruption Task Force (SACTF) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The SACTF includes personnel from the FBI, the DHS Inspector-General’s office, the Offices of Professional Responsibility for ICE and CBP, the DEA, and the Tucson Police Department.

— United States Department of Justice. “Former Border Patrol Agent Sentenced to More Than 12 Years on Bribery, Firearms, and Narcotics Charges,” December 27, 2022. <https://www.justice.gov/usao-az/pr/former-border-patrol-agent-sentenced-more-12-years-bribery-firearms-and-narcotics-charges>.

— Prendergast, Curt. “Indictment: Arizona Border Agent Smuggled 255 Lbs. of Cocaine, $1.2M in Cash.” Arizona Daily Star. March 5, 2019. <https://tucson.com/news/local/indictment-arizona-border-agent-smuggled-255-lbs-of-cocaine-1-2m-in-cash/article_b7748288-1e83-5768-a4a0-c70f3a3fa434.html>.

— “USA v. Monreal-Rodriguez et al. 4:18-Cr-02215.” Administrative Office of the United States Courts, June 6, 2022. <https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-azd-4_18-cr-02215>.

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Corruption

Last Known Accountability Status: Criminal Conviction

Victim Classification:

December 6, 2022

After President Biden told a Fox News reporter that he is not visiting the border “because there are more important things going on,” an unnamed Border Patrol agent texted the conservative Daily Caller: “MORE IMPORTANT THINGS? This is HIS disaster, he created this catastrophe. The border crisis is a total breach of National Security. Give me a f—ing break…I can’t wait for this clown to be out of office.”

— Taer, Jennie. “‘Give Me A F***ing Break’: Border Agents Rip Biden For Saying ‘There Are More Important Things’ Than Visiting Border.” Daily Caller. Accessed February 19, 2023. <https://dailycaller.com/2022/12/06/border-biden-immigration-mexico/>.

Sector(s): Border-Wide

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Insubordinate or Highly Politicized Conduct

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification:

December 2, 2022

An ACLU Texas complaint submitted to DHS leadership, shared and reported by the Texas Tribune, found that Border Patrol collaboration made possible 91 Texas state police “trespassing” arrests of migrants between late July and late August 2022. Border Patrol agents, the complaint reported, played a role in one quarter of the 368 migrant arrests that Texas’s Department of Public Security carried out during this period. The controversial arrests were part of “Operation Lone Star” (OLS), a state-government border crackdown ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott (R), an outspoken critic of the Biden administration’s border and migration policies.

“Extrapolating from this data, Border Patrol collusion is likely responsible for hundreds of arrests in Texas’ unlawful, discriminatory, and anti-immigrant trespass arrest system,” the ACLU complaint read.

To date, Texas has arrested more than 5,000 primarily Latinx individuals on state misdemeanor criminal trespass charges under OLS. The state has funneled these individuals into a separate criminal prosecution and detention system riddled with civil rights violations, including failure to appoint counsel and failure to timely file charges.

In July 2022, the Texas Tribune and ProPublica revealed that the Department of Justice was “seeking to review whether Operation Lone Star violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bars discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin by institutions receiving federal funding.”

Of the 91 Border Patrol-aided arrests in the ACLU complaint:

  • Border Patrol agents were the initial arresting or apprehending party in 35 cases. “Border Patrol effectuated the arrest when DPS [Texas state Department of Public Safety] was not even present and nevertheless turned the individual over to a DPS officer for state misdemeanor trespass rather than process the individual for immigration purposes.”
  • Border Patrol agents and Texas DPS officers were both present for the arrest in 41 arrests. “Instead of Border Patrol taking the individuals into CBP custody for immigration processing, Border Patrol prioritized arrests under Operation Lone Star for misdemeanor trespass—ensuring eligible individuals were instead channeled into the OLS trespass arrest system.”
  • In 15 cases, Border Patrol provided surveillance information to Texas DPS that enabled Texas police to arrest the migrants. “This includes information from Border Patrol helicopter surveillance, drone, and remote cameras.”

The complaint noted that it appears to violate CBP policy for Border Patrol agents, who are federal government personnel, to collude with a state program that has imprisoned thousands of migrants—including asylum seekers—for months in specially designated Texas jails. It recalled an October 2021 interview with Texas Monthly in which Border Patrol Chief Raúl Ortiz called the OLS trespass arrest system “a tremendous concern,” adding, “I really would prefer to see border security left to the border-security experts.”

Texas law does not give Border Patrol agents the authority to arrest people for state misdemeanor charges (and most felony charges). In November 15, 2022 testimony before the Texas State Senate Committee on Border Security, the chief of Border Patrol’s Laredo Sector, Carl Landrum, asked legislators to make a “slight adjustment” to the Texas Penal Code that would allow Border Patrol agents “to arrest and assist in the prosecution of all state felonies and, he said, ‘some misdemeanors,’” the Texas Observer reported in February 2023.

“It is not clear whether the Laredo sector leadership’s position on expanding Texas state law to authorize felony arrests by Border Patrol under state law is endorsed by Border Patrol leadership or consistent with Border Patrol policy,” the ACLU Texas complaint read.

Finding that “Border Patrol’s extensive collusion with DPS in OLS trespass arrests is deeply troubling,” the ACLU Texas complaint called for “investigation by the Department of Homeland Security Office of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL) and the Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).”

— Huddleston, Kathryn, Bernardo Cruz, Savannah Kumar, and Adriana Piñon. “Border Patrol Collusion in Texas Migrant Arrest Program under ‘Operation Lone Star’—Urgent Need for Immediate End to Collusion.” American Civil Liberties Union of Texas, December 2, 2022. <https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c7b90d91cada0fd9268a2cb7e78b357a/ACLUTX_DHS_Complaint_OLS.pdf>.

— McCullough, Jolie. “Feds Often Hand Migrants over to State Police Rather than Process Immigration Claims, Complaint Says.” The Texas Tribune, December 2, 2022. <https://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/02/texas-migrant-arrests-border-patrol/>.

—Trevizo, Perla. “Justice Department Is Investigating Texas’ Operation Lone Star for Alleged Civil Rights Violations.” The Texas Tribune, July 6, 2022. <https://www.texastribune.org/2022/07/06/operation-lone-star-doj-investigation-abbott/>.

— McCullough, Jolie. “Texas’ Border Operation Is Meant to Stop Cartels and Smugglers. More Often, It Arrests Migrants for Misdemeanor Trespassing.” The Texas Tribune, April 4, 2022. <https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/04/texas-border-operation-imprisons-thousands-accused-only-of-trespassing/>.

— Nelsen, Aaron. “Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz on the Crisis in Texas and Why Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star Concerns Him.” Texas Monthly, October 21, 2021. <https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/raul-ortiz-border-patrol-texas/>.

— Griswold, Niki. “Border Patrol Requests Change to Texas Penal Code to Allow Agents to Enforce State Law.” Austin American-Statesman. November 16, 2022. <https://www.statesman.com/story/news/politics/state/2022/11/16/border-patrol-asks-texas-to-allow-agents-to-enforce-state-law/69639080007/>.

— Buch, Jason. “The Border Patrol’s Power Grab.” The Texas Observer, February 13, 2023. <https://www.texasobserver.org/the-border-patrols-gross-power-grab/>.

Sector(s): Del Rio, Laredo

Agency(ies): Border Patrol, Texas State Police

Event Type(s): Insubordinate or Highly Politicized Conduct, Racial Discrimination or Profiling

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Single Adult

November 2022

In November 2022, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted unannounced inspections of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facilities. OIG personnel inspected two facilities of Border Patrol’s El Paso sector and one CBP Office of Field Operations port of entry. On September 15th, 2023, OIG published a 40-page report of its findings. 

The visits took place at a time of heavy migration to the El Paso sector. At the time of the inspection, Border Patrol had 1,903 people in custody at its El Paso processing center (M-CPC). Inspectors interviewed a random sample of 10 percent of those being held.

The inspection broadly revealed that the Border Patrol facilities met Transport, Escort, Detention, and Search (TEDS) standards to provide basic amenities including drinking water, meals, access to toilets, hygienic supplies, and bedding. 

However, CBP was out of compliance with detention time requirements, as well as the provision of regularly scheduled meals and showers. More than half of those surveyed were held in CBP custody for more than the 72 hours required in non-emergency circumstances.

TEDS standards require facilities to provide showers to juveniles at most every 48 hours and to adults at most every 72 hours while in CBP custody. While detainees were provided with showers during intake, they were not provided with showers every 48 or 72 hours thereafter. Detainees were also not given hygienic materials like toothpaste and toothbrushes. According to a CBP official, the facility faced limited shower capacity, insufficient staffing, and overcrowding that prevented officers from providing these required showers and supplies. 

The inspection also revealed data integrity issues in Border Patrol’s electronic records system, E3. During an inspection of a sample of twenty custody logs, OIG found gaps in entries of when meals, blankets, and hygiene items were provided. When attempting to locate a detainee for interviews, CBP officials were unable to locate the person due to E3 discrepancies.

In a February 2023 follow-up visit, at a time when the El Paso sector was receiving far fewer migrants, OIG inspected the facility once again and considered all of its recommendations resolved.

—“Results of Unannounced Inspections of CBP Holding Facilities in the El Paso Area” (Washington: DHS Office of Inspector-General, September 15, 2023) https://www.oig.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/assets/2023-09/OIG-23-50-Sep23.pdf.

Sector(s): Border Patrol, CBP, El Paso, El Paso Field Office

Agency(ies): Border Patrol, CBP

Event Type(s): Conditions in Custody, Denial of Food or Water

Last Known Accountability Status: Cleared by DHS OIG

Victim Classification: Family Unit, Single Adult

Early November, 2022

The Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) recounted the experience of Leticia [name changed to protect privacy], a Mexican migrant who sought asylum in the United States after she and her husband spent a month in captivity, kidnapped for ransom by organized crime.

After crossing and entering Border Patrol custody, KBI reported, “US agents asked Leticia and her husband 10 questions during about 10 minutes about why they came to the US. Despite explaining the persecution they fled in Guerrero and the hostage situation they had just escaped, CBP expelled them back across the border to the same area where they had been held hostage with no explanation.”

— “Early November Update on the Border, Asylum and Deportations from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, November 10, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Dangerous Deportation, Denial of Protection to Most Vulnerable

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Kidnap Victim, Mexico, Single Adult

Early November, 2022

Reporting on November 10, 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) stated, “Over the past 2 weeks, 11 people have reported to Kino the confiscation and disposal of their personal belongings by Border Patrol. In these cases, Border Patrol deports people without their most necessary personal belongings, such as identity documents, money and cell phones, which often leaves them stranded and unable to communicate with family members.”

Among cases cited:

Last week, Emanuel [name changed to protect privacy] arrived at Kino after being deported without any of his belongings. BP [Border Patrol] confiscated his belongings when they apprehended him and never returned them. He called the Mexican Consulate but they said they could not mail his items to Mexico. He lost his Mexican ID, cell phone, 1,500 pesos ($77 USD), credit card, and watch. He was only able to communicate with his family members and tell them he was okay after arriving to Kino where he borrowed a phone.

— “Early November Update on the Border, Asylum and Deportations from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, November 10, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Non-Return of Belongings

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Mexico, Single Adult

Early November, 2022

Reporting on November 10, 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) stated, “Over the past 2 weeks, 11 people have reported to Kino the confiscation and disposal of their personal belongings by Border Patrol. In these cases, Border Patrol deports people without their most necessary personal belongings, such as identity documents, money and cell phones, which often leaves them stranded and unable to communicate with family members.”

Among cases cited:

Upon apprehending Gerardo [name changed to protect privacy], BP [Border Patrol] confiscated his belt, jacket, cell phone, phone charger, wallet and 800 pesos ($41 USD). He commented, “I need my cell phone to be able to communicate with my family and without money, I can’t go anywhere.”

— “Early November Update on the Border, Asylum and Deportations from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, November 10, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Non-Return of Belongings

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Single Adult

November 4, 2022

Four Democratic House members, including key committee chairs, sent a letter to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking the agency to investigate “concerns about Border Patrol agents confiscating asylum seekers’ religious headwear as well as not returning or improperly discarding personal property belonging to apprehended individuals.” (Original link)

They ask GAO to look into how Border Patrol collects, stores, transfers, and returns apprehended migrants’ property, as well has how Border Patrol oversees its agents’ handling of personal property and what complaint mechanisms are in place for individuals whose property is not returned to them.

— Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, and Rep. Joaquin Castro. “GAO Request Personal Property,” November 4, 2022. <https://democrats-homeland.house.gov/imo/media/doc/gao_request_personal_property.pdf>.

Sector(s): Border-Wide

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Non-Return of Belongings

Last Known Accountability Status: Under GAO Investigation

Victim Classification:

October 30, 2022

Members of Border Patrol’s SWAT-style tactical unit, BORTAC, shot and killed an individual on U.S. soil near San Luis, Arizona, about 15 miles southwest of Yuma.

A CBP statement claimed that a Border Patrol remote camera operator detected six individuals crossing into the United States, one of them armed with a handgun. (Original link) After BORTAC showed up at the scene, about 300 yards from the borderline, “three agents fired their weapons, striking and killing one of the subjects,” a man, CBP reported. The agency noted that a handgun was found near the man’s body, but did not specify what provoked the agents to open fire.

Agents took four people into custody, and one fled into Mexico. The deceased man was a Mexican citizen, the Mexican consulate confirmed. “The consulate also said in a statement that the man killed was ‘allegedly the guide of the group” that crossed into the U.S.,’ according to the Tucson Sentinel.

The Sentinel added, “This is the fifth fatal incident involving Border Patrol agents in Arizona this year, and one of nearly two dozen use-of-force incidents involving agents in the Yuma Sector… and the Tucson Sector. This includes two car crashes involving smugglers, a shooting in rugged terrain in southeastern Arizona, and an incident near Douglas, Ariz. when an agent stabbed a man twice while grappling with him.”

The incident is under investigation by the FBI, the San Luis Police Department, and CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility. The case was also referred to DHS’ Office of Inspector General, and, CBP reports, “will be reviewed by CBP’s National Use of Force Review Board at the conclusion of the investigation.”

— Ortiz, Fernie. “Border Patrol Agents Shoot and Kill Armed Migrant near Arizona-Mexico Border.” BorderReport, November 8, 2022. <https://www.borderreport.com/immigration/border-patrol-agents-shoot-and-kill-armed-migrant-near-arizona-mexico-border/>.

— U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “CBP Statement on Agent-Involved Fatal Shooting near San Luis, Arizona,” November 5, 2022. <https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/cbp-statement-agent-involved-fatal-shooting-near-san-luis-arizona>.

— Ingram, Paul. “Border Patrol Agents Shot & Killed Armed Man near San Luis in October.” TucsonSentinel.Com, November 21, 2022. <http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report//112122_bp_shooting_san_luis/>.

Sector(s): Yuma

Agency(ies): Border Patrol, BORTAC

Event Type(s): Use of Force

Last Known Accountability Status: Shared with DHS OIG, To be reviewed by Use of Force Review Board, Under FBI Investigation, Under Local Police investigation, Under OPR Investigation

Victim Classification: Mexico, Single Adult

Mid-October, 2022

Reporting on October 27, 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) recounted a Mexican migrant’s inability to receive prompt medical care in Border Patrol custody after being bitten by a venomous animal.

As Caleb [name changed to protect privacy] was crossing the desert, a Border Patrol helicopter appeared overhead and he laid down on the ground, only to be stung by a venomous scorpion on his hip. When a BP agent approached him, Caleb told him he had been stung and needed medical attention, as he was having trouble breathing and his throat felt tingly. The agent told him to sit down and be quiet. After being transported to Yuma, Caleb asked again for medical attention and showed an agent his sting, but she told him to wait. He waited in a holding cell from sometime in the afternoon until 3 am, when there was a shift change and the agent coming on duty saw his condition and immediately brought him to the ER to get an anti-venom shot. Over the course of his detention, he had trouble getting the antibiotics that he needed to prevent the sting from getting infected and also lost all his personal belongings that BP had confiscated, despite contacting the Mexican Consulate for assistance getting them returned.

— “October 27 update from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, October 27, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Denial of Medical Care, Non-Return of Belongings

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Mexico, Single Adult

Mid-October, 2022

Reporting on October 27, 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) recounted a case of Border Patrol agents separating members of a migrant family.

Olga [name changed to protect privacy] was traveling with her son and her friend’s child, Leonel [name changed to protect privacy], of whom she has legal guardianship. Upon being apprehended by BP, [Border Patrol] agents separated Olga from Leonel because he wasn’t her biological child. They pushed him aggressively against the BP truck and took him, even though Olga had a notarized document showing her guardianship. They told Olga his biological mom had to get him and expelled Olga and her son without Leonel.

— “October 27 update from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, October 27, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Family Separation

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Family Unit

October 17, 2022

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), summarized by the Washington Post, looked at “Notices to Report” that Border Patrol issued to 94,000 migrant family members released into the United States between May and September 2021. (The documents, which involved little paperwork at a time of heavy migrant arrivals, required migrants to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office within 60 days.)

It found that on about 60 percent of the “Notices” issued during the first 3 months of the process, Border Patrol agents had entered incorrect or incomplete address information for the migrants’ intended destinations. Entries often left streets or even city names off of addresses, as well as apartment numbers.

About 75 percent of migrant families required to “report” did indeed show up, which overwhelmed many ICE offices in migrants’ destination cities. GAO noted a lack of coordination between CBP and ICE. In November 2021, CBP stopped issuing “Notices to Report” and now relies more on “alternatives to detention” with electronic monitoring.

— “Southwest Border: Challenges and Efforts Implementing New Processes for Noncitizen Families.” Washington: U.S. Government Accountability Office, September 28, 2022. <https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-22-105456>.

— Miroff, Nick. “GAO Examines U.S. Border Practices in Facing Record Numbers of Migrants.” Washington Post, October 18, 2022. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/10/17/border-report-migrants/>.

Sector(s): Border-Wide

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Falsification or Negligent Handling of Asylum Paperwork

Last Known Accountability Status: GAO Investigation Closed

Victim Classification:

October 17, 2022

In fiscal year 2022, “Immigration Court judges dismissed a total of 63,586 cases”—1 out of every 6 that year—“because Department of Homeland Security officials, chiefly Border Patrol agents, are not filing the actual ‘Notice to Appear’ (NTA) with the Immigration Court,” reported Syracuse University’s TRAC Immigration program. Such failures to file were rare, TRAC noted, “until Border Patrol agents were given the authority to use the Immigration Court’s Interactive Scheduling System.” Meanwhile, “the public has also been left in the dark as to what ultimately happens to these cases and the immigrant involved.”

“This is exceedingly wasteful of the Court’s time,” TRAC explained. “It is also problematic for the immigrant (and possibly their attorney) if they show up at hearings only to have the case dismissed by the Immigration Judge because the case hasn’t actually been filed with the Court.”

— “Over 63,000 DHS Cases Thrown Out of Immigration Court This Year Because No NTA Was Filed.” Syracuse: TRAC Immigration, October 17, 2022. <https://trac.syr.edu/reports/699/>.

Sector(s): Border-Wide

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Falsification or Negligent Handling of Asylum Paperwork

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification:

October 14, 2022

The acting chief of Border Patrol’s Law Enforcement Operations Directorate “left his post quietly” amid allegations that he pressured subordinate female employees to perform sexual favors. As of January 2023, Tony Barker, an agent for over 20 years, was under investigation by CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility, NBC News and the New York Times reported.

Women make up about 5 percent of Border Patrol’s workforce. During his 2021-2022 tenure as CBP commissioner, Chris Magnus told the Times, many women said they did not trust the agency’s procedures for addressing sexual misconduct: “Mr. Magnus said that several women described the process to him as pointless, especially when it involves complaining to a supervisor who may be close friends with the accused. ‘Too many of these guys just sort of stick together and protect each other,’ Mr. Magnus said. ‘It’s a culture of a wink and a nod.’”

— Ainsley, Julia. “Border Patrol Official Quit after Allegedly Pressuring Women for Sex, Officials Say.” NBC News, January 21, 2023. <https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/border-patrol-official-barker-resigned-allegedly-pressuring-women-sex-rcna66841>.

— Sullivan, Eileen. “Top Border Patrol Official Resigned Amid Allegations of Improper Conduct.” The New York Times, January 22, 2023, sec. U.S. <https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/21/us/politics/top-border-patrol-official-resigned.html>.

Sector(s): Border-Wide

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Sexual Assault or Harassment

Last Known Accountability Status: Under OPR Investigation

Victim Classification: DHS Employee, Female

October 13, 2022

“Over the past 2 weeks,” reported the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI), “KBI recorded 13 cases of BP [Border Patrol] taking personal belongings and never returning them (an issue highlighted in the recent NGO letter to CBP Commissioner Magnus), 4 cases of physical abuse and mistreatment, 2 cases of deportations in the middle of the night and 2 cases of medical neglect.”

— “Early October Update on Asylum, Border, and Deportations from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, October 13, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Dangerous Deportation, Denial of Medical Care, Non-Return of Belongings, Use of Force

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification:

October 12, 2022

A report published by Oxfam America and the Tahirih Justice Center includes this example of gender-based harm in Border Patrol custody, gathered from a February interview with a migrant woman.

A painful example, shared by a provider recalling a client who had been detained by CBP [59] at the border, highlights the ways in which US officials ignore women’s needs. This client, a young woman, was forced by CBP to spend over 72 hours in a cell without access to sanitary items she needed for menstruation while being harassed by a CBP officer:

“She was held in a holding cell that you’re not supposed to be in for more than 72 hours, like right at the border, but she was there for…maybe five days…She was held for significantly longer than she was supposed to be and was only allowed to be in her underwear. She was on her period and was given no menstrual sanitary items—pads, tampons or anything…[She was] forced to sit there cold in her underwear with this one officer that she said she felt like had it out for her…[he would] say really mean things to her and not let her sleep and make her get her little kid up who’s only five.” [60]

— Duvisac, Sara, and Irena Sullivan. “Surviving Deterrence: How Us Asylum Deterrence Policies Normalize Gender-Based Violence.” United States: Oxfam America, Tahirih Justice Center, October 12, 2022. <https://www.tahirih.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Oxfam_Tahirh_Surviving-Deterrence_English_2022.pdf>.

Footnotes from above:

[59] We use the term “CBP” because the vast majority of our interview respondents refer to US officials at the border as “CBP.” These officials are most likely Border Patrol agents.

[60] Interview 13, February 2022.

Sector(s):

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Abusive Language, Conditions in Custody, Denial of Medical Care, Gender-Based Harm or Violence

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Female, Single Adult

Early October 2022

The Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) reported that a pregnant migrant woman lost her child after Border Patrol refused medical attention while she was in the agency’s custody, then expelled her under the Title 42 authority.

KBI recently accompanied Esmeralda [name changed to protect privacy] who lost her unborn child when BP [Border Patrol] apprehended her at 8 months pregnant and refused her medical attention 3 times. Upon apprehension, she told them she was 8 months pregnant and had a child that tended to move around a lot and that she was alarmed she hadn’t felt the baby move in hours. She requested a medical examination 3 times and BP agents repeatedly told her to wait. She was quickly expelled to Mexico. The following morning when she began to experience serious pain, a migrant shelter in Nogales brought her to the hospital, where they told her that her baby was no longer alive.

— “Early October Update on Asylum, Border, and Deportations from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, October 13, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Denial of Medical Care, Denial of Protection to Most Vulnerable

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Female, Pregnancy

Early October 2022

The Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative (KBI) related Border Patrol’s expulsion, without medical attention, of a migrant who needed a hospital visit upon his arrival in Mexico.

When Elvin [name changed to protect privacy] attempted to enter the US, the mafia attacked him and others in the group he was traveling with. They were all seriously beaten. Elvin then tried to turn himself in to BP [Border Patrol] and ask for help and medical attention. However, BP did not give him any medical attention and didn’t even record his information, but rather expelled him quickly and told him to go to Grupo Beta in Mexico, the humanitarian arm of Mexican immigration. Grupo Beta brought him to the hospital where he received the medical attention he was denied by BP.

— “Early October Update on Asylum, Border, and Deportations from KBI” (Nogales: Kino Border Initiative, October 13, 2022).

Sector(s): Tucson

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Denial of Medical Care

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: Single Adult

October 7, 2022

A Southern California public radio investigation found that CBP and Border Patrol in San Diego are releasing injured migrants from custody before they receive necessary treatment, in order to avoid “skyrocketing medical costs” amid a big increase in border wall-related injuries.

Mexico’s consul in San Diego said that “during the first 12 days of August, eight Mexican nationals died trying to cross the border in an undocumented way.” A January 27, 2023 document from the consulate recorded 23 deaths and dozens of injuries, listed as “wall-related,” of Mexican migrants in the San Diego area. (Original link)

With CBP paying far fewer of injured migrants’ medical bills, California’s state government—which changed its law in 2021 to expand the state’s health-care program to cover undocumented migrants’ medical costs—is now bearing most of the cost. The investigation reports:

In 2019, CBP paid the medical expenses of roughly 75% of the patients their agents brought into UC San Diego. That percentage increased to 80% in 2020 but then dropped to 50% in 2021. So far this year, the CBP payment rate at the hospital is down to 15%, although that percentage could go up as payments are processed.

It adds, citing the hospital’s head of trauma, that “the UC San Diego Medical Center has received so many border fall patients this year that the hospital had to dedicate an entire ward just for them.”

— Solis, Gustavo. “Border Patrol Avoiding Medical Costs by Releasing Injured Migrants, Records Show.” KPBS Public Media, October 7, 2022. <https://www.kpbs.org/news/border-immigration/2022/10/07/border-patrol-avoiding-medical-costs-by-releasing-injured-migrants-records-show>.

— “Mexican Nationals Injured or Dead While Crossing the Border in the San Diego-Tijuana Region during Fiscal Years 2020-2022.” Consulate of Mexico in San Diego, January 2023. <https://consulmex.sre.gob.mx/sandiego/index.php/boletines/856-increasing-number-of-mexican-nationals-injured-or-dead-in-their-attempt-to-cross-the-border>.

Sector(s): San Diego, San Diego Field Office

Agency(ies): Border Patrol, Office of Field Operations

Event Type(s): Denial of Medical Care

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification:

October 4, 2022

Border Patrol agents shot and killed a Mexican migrant inside the Ysleta Border Patrol station in eastern El Paso, Texas. Manuel González Morán, a 33-year-old man from Ciudad Juárez, was shot twice and pronounced dead at an El Paso hospital.

According to CBP’s release, dated October 15, 2022 (original link):

The man exited a detention cell, forced his way past an agent, and got a pair of scissors from a desk in the migrant processing area. Agents issued verbal commands, and one agent deployed an Electronic Control Weapon, which had no effect on the man. The man advanced towards two other agents with the scissors in his hand and two agents discharged their firearms, striking the assailant which successfully stopped his advance.

Agents reportedly sought to subdue González by firing a taser at him, with no apparent result. An agent or agents then shot González at close range. One bullet grazed his arm, another pierced his temple.

“A security camera in the room was not functioning at the time of the incident,” a “person with knowledge of the investigation” told the Washington Post. CBP’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) “is obtaining more information regarding the operational history of the station’s video recording system,” the agency reported.

The FBI is investigating the incident, along with OPR. The DHS Office of Inspector-General was notified, and CBP’s National Use of Force Review Board will review the incident.

The FBI’s October 5, 2022 statement noted, “In 2011, Moran was arrested by the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office in Pueblo, Colorado, on charges of attempted first-degree murder and was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon resulting in serious bodily injury. In May of 2022, Moran was paroled after serving 11-years of his 17-year sentence and was removed from the U.S. to Mexico.” (Original link)

— “Border Patrol Agents Fatally Shoot Apprehended Man after He Arms Himself, Ignores Commands and Advances towards Agents.” U.S. Customs and Border Protection, October 15, 2022. <https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/speeches-and-statements/border-patrol-agents-fatally-shoot-apprehended-man-after-he-arms>.

— Miroff, Nick. “Border Agents Fired Fatal Shots after Migrant Grabbed Weapon, FBI Says.” Washington Post, October 6, 2022. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/10/04/border-patrol-agent-fatally-shoots-migrant-us-custody/>.

— “FBI Investigative Update on the U.S. Border Patrol Agent Involved Shooting at Ysleta Border Patrol Station.” Federal Bureau of Investigation, October 5, 2022. https://www.fbi.gov/contact-us/field-offices/elpaso/news/press-releases/fbi-investigative-update-on-the-us-border-patrol-agent-involved-shooting-at-ysleta-border-patrol-station.

Sector(s): El Paso

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Use of Force

Last Known Accountability Status: Shared with DHS OIG, Under FBI Investigation, Under OPR Investigation

Victim Classification: Mexico, Single Adult

October 3, 2022

A coalition of Arizona-based groups led by ACLU Arizona sent a letter to CBP Commissioner Chris Magnus, summarized by the Border Chronicle, asking his agency to cease the practice of requiring asylum-seeking migrants to relinquish their personal belongings, which often get discarded.

The letter’s appendix includes numerous examples, from Border Patrol’s Tucson and Yuma sectors, of items taken from migrants. Among them:

  • Turbans confiscated from Sikh asylum seekers, denounced earlier in an August 1 letter from ACLU of Arizona. Through September 2022, the organizations had “documented at least 95 cases in which Arizona Border Patrol agents confiscated and did not replace turbans from members of the Sikh faith.”
  • Prayer rugs that migrants were forced to abandon, “sometimes in dumpsters. One of these individuals had to discard a prayer rug that had been in their family for over a hundred years.”
  • Several cases of rosaries and bibles, including “multi-generational family bibles,” that migrants were forced to deposit in dumpsters.
  • 42 cases of vital medications confiscated and not replaced between November 2021 and September 2022, including “those for HIV, high blood pressure, diabetes (types 1 and 2), and epilepsy. Agents also took migrants’ asthma inhalers and prenatal and hormonal vitamins from women with high-risk pregnancies. Most of the individuals whose medications for high blood pressure and diabetes were confiscated were released to shelter providers with (sometimes extremely) elevated blood pressure and blood sugar levels.”
  • “At least 15 separate instances in which elderly individuals were forced by Border Patrol agents in Arizona to abandon medical assistive devices, such as wheelchairs, walkers, and canes.”
  • Reports, received by a New Mexico shelter provider, that El Paso Border Patrol Sector agents were seizing “critical medications and medical devices, such as epi-pens and inhalers.”
  • In Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, “The National Butterfly Center (located in Mission, Texas) has found photo identification, birth certificates, and bank account information at its facility or on the perimeter, where migrants are often apprehended. The organization has collected at least ten sets of identification documents in the last year alone. Other advocates who operate in the Rio Grande Valley Sector report finding discarded police reports, medical records, passports, immigration papers, and other documents that could be vital to substantiating an asylum claim.”
  • Between January and October 2022, “A New Mexico shelter provider that receives migrants from El Paso Sector Border Patrol reports that Border Patrol has sometimes confiscated cellphones and either not returned them or returned them in damaged condition.”
  • Between May and September 2022, the Nogales-based Kino Border Initiative “encountered at least 29 cases in which migrants’ cell phones were confiscated by Arizona Border Patrol agents.”
  • In March 2022, the AZ-CA Humanitarian Coalition “encountered several families who were forced by Border Patrol agents to discard their children’s toys and stuffed animals with their children in line-of-sight.”

— Several Arizona Non-Governmental Human Rights Groups. “Letter to CBP Regarding Treatment of Migrants’ Personal Belongings,” October 3, 2022. <https://www.acluaz.org/sites/default/files/2022.10.03_letter_to_cbp_regarding_treatment_of_migrants_personal_belongings.pdf>.

Sector(s): El Paso, Rio Grande Valley, Tucson, Yuma

Agency(ies): Border Patrol

Event Type(s): Confiscation of Documents, Non-Return of Belongings

Last Known Accountability Status: Unknown

Victim Classification: