Activist Communities Repeatedly Document Similar Abuse
Detroit- The Northern Borders Coalition condemns the violent and disturbing footage highlighted in a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) documentary focusing on the role of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) at the US-Mexican Border. The episode, “Crossing the Line at the Border,” was released April 20 and will play repeatedly throughout the month. It was a joint investigation of PBS, the Nation Institute and supported by the Southern Border Community Coalition (SBCC), and documents a pattern of terrifying abuse and misuse of power, raising questions about the rights and responsibilities of CBP, and echoing concerns that immigration community advocates have had for years.
PBS created the documentary as part of an ongoing investigative series titled “Need to Know.” The images and reporting therein are graphic, including eyewitness video and accounts of the death of an immigrant at the hands of several CBP agents, which calls to mind the infamous Rodney King beating- and incident that is 20 years past just this week. The episode focuses on accountability issues, specifically outlining the vacuum in which CBP agents are allowed to operate as part of the Department of Homeland Security, and raising concerns about lack of proper training. It also asks why wrongful death cases have not yet been prosecuted.
Immigration rights groups and communities have repeatedly called attention to the rogue nature of CBP. Groups have continuously partnered in the past several years in decrying the lack of answers and transparency at the border, exposing these issues through several awareness campaigns, press events, and partnered reports. The Southern Border Communities Coalition and Presente.orgalong with the Maria Puga, the widow of Anastasio Hernandez Rojas, the San Diego resident who was tortured and killed by agents of the Border Patrol as he begged for mercy, launched a campaign demanding further investigation of his death, and has committed to taking his story all the way to the White House.
“The report adds another layer of evidence to a Border Patrol’s pattern of abuse,” Said Ryan Bates, the Executive Director at Alliance for Immigrant Rights & Reform and member of the Northern Borders Coalition. “We’ve heard reports of abuse for years, but the agency and the Administration have always refused to take them seriously. Border Patrol is completely out of control, and the Administration needs to take strong action now to reign in this rogue agency.”
The video has served to invigorate calls for investigation of the CBP force, and has received extensive news coverage and attention. The family of one victim within the video has View the entire video at http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/video/
