A report from ProPublica captured screenshots of exchanges between Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents using sexist and racist language and imagery to mock and degrade people being held in border detention camps.
A secret Facebook group of 9,500 CBP officers discussed making a GoFundMe for officers to harm myself & Rep. Escobar during our visit to CBP facilities & mocked migrant deaths.
This isn’t about “a few bad eggs.” This is a violent culture.
1/ We got our hands on screenshots from a secret FB group for current and former Border Patrol agents. They joke about migrant deaths, including the death of a teen in their care, and post racist, sexist memes.
Here's what we found.
👇👇👇— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
2/ These are responses from #BorderPatrol agents to a post of a news story about a 16-year-old Guatemalan migrant who died in May while in custody at a Border Patrol station in Weslaco, Texas. pic.twitter.com/OI8LDqyPLG
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
3/ Here, agents joke about throwing burritos at Latino members of Congress who are scheduled to visit a troubled Border Patrol facility today. pic.twitter.com/xqivtT8K3T
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
4/ Other members of the group posted multiple explicit, doctored images. pic.twitter.com/wkMJOa2lKC
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
6/ Created in August 2016, the group is called “I’m 10-15” and boasts roughly 9,500 members. (10-15 is Border Patrol code for “aliens in custody.”) https://t.co/Q0MJed56b6
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
7/ A staffer for Representative Escobar called the posts about her and Ocasio-Cortez are “vile and sexist.” pic.twitter.com/qY4r4cM3qd
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
7/ A staffer for Representative Escobar called the posts about her and Ocasio-Cortez are “vile and sexist.” pic.twitter.com/qY4r4cM3qd
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
8/ “Furthermore, the comments made by Border Patrol agents towards immigrants, especially those that have lost their lives, are disgusting and show a complete disregard for human life and dignity.”
— Representative Escobar staffer pic.twitter.com/pgxzwHYlm8— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
9/ “It confirms some of the worst criticisms of Customs and Border Protection,” said the head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.
“These are clearly agents who are desensitized to the point of being dangerous to migrants and their co-workers.” pic.twitter.com/5tFMc2gfKP
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
10/ The Border Patrol Facebook group is only the most recent example of some law enforcement and military personnel behaving badly in digital spaces they believed were private, but it's not the only one. https://t.co/i5DEzUuE9V
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
11/ We have tried to reach group members, but have so far been unable to make contact.
We've contacted 3 spokespeople for Border Patrol (@CBP), and provided the names of agents who appear to have participated in the group.
They haven't responded.
— ProPublica (@propublica) July 1, 2019
A reporter asked Trump to comment on a Facebook group allegedly run by Border agents, which has been criticized for mocking migrants and Democrats.
A reporter asked Trump to comment on a Facebook group allegedly run by Border agents, which has been criticized for mocking migrants and Democrats.
"Hispanics love what I'm doing," Trump said, sidestepping the issue to give talking points on border security, crime & poll numbers pic.twitter.com/vtP76ISfZv
— POLITICO (@politico) July 1, 2019
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