U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the El Paso Processing Center, a facility operated by ICE, allegedly forced a Honduran migrant to walk around carrying a handwritten sign reading “I like men” in Spanish. According to CNN, the alleged act was meant to humiliate the man, and a CBP agent reported the March 5 incident to his supervisor via email.
Related: Memers eviscerate Trump after Oval Office address about ‘crisis’ on southern border
“This report has been made and is currently under investigation,” an El Paso CBP spokesman said in an email, per the El Paso Times. “CBP takes allegations of mistreatment of individuals in our facilities seriously, and all allegations are reported to both the DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Office of the Inspector General and the CBP Office of Professional Responsibility. Any employee found to have violated our standards of conduct will be held accountable.”
As the Times points out, many Central American immigrants are LGBTQ individuals trying to escape transphobic and homophobic oppression and violence at home.
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A CBP agent previously told CNN that a supervisor in El Paso joked about running over migrants with a car, with that source adding that being derogatory is part of border patrol culture.
Representative Joe Kennedy III recently toured the El Paso and Clint detention facilities and gave the following appraisal of the conditions there:
Spent the morning in TX at Clint and El Paso detention facilities. Big takeaways — 1) @CBP was very resistant to Congressional oversight. They tried to restrict what we saw, take our phones, block photos and video. Atmosphere was contentious and uncooperative.
— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) July 1, 2019
2) Facilities are wholly inadequate. Cells maxed to capacity, concrete floors…It felt jail-like. No way to keep a child or innocent human being. Group of 13 women from Cuba were in tears when we spoke with them.
— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) July 1, 2019
3) The entire system is broken, rotten and rife with abuse. And Trump doubles down on it despite the growing horror — child detention, metering, Remain in Mexico, threatened ICE raids. Every action he takes exacerbates and entrenches the humanitarian crisis at our nation’s feet.
— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) July 1, 2019
Our oversight is not deterred. Congress won’t let up.
— Rep. Joe Kennedy III (@RepJoeKennedy) July 1, 2019
poundmetoo
Hopefully stories like this will help convince the alt left and the dems that there is indeed a crises at the border!
seaguy
Democrats know there is a crisis one of Donald Trump’s making with his family separations and idea that walling off the southern border will solve everything.
TheMarc
Wow, where do I even begin?! First, yes, there is a crisis at the border. Are you suggesting this is the only way this should be handled?! By stuffing human beings into pens like animals that would not even pass inspection under the most lax USDA inspector? Explain to me exactly how Trump’s policies are actively addressing or would address this crisis. Because Trump is the President of the United States and these facilities are a direct reflection of his policies; so Dems and the “alt left” have little to do with it. In fact, they are the ones bringing it to light. Try again, troll.
Diplomat-G
@poundmetoo
What? There is a crisis at the border because there are not enough people to process individuals that have followed both US and international law and are seeking asylum, there is a crisis because idiots like trump and his ignorant racist followers have created it, There is a crisis because children are being ripped from their parents and placed in cages and you and your fellow race-baiting fools are allowing it.
Juanjo
I have friends, attorneys who practice immigration law, who are at the southern border. The fact is that Trump has slower the review of asylum claims to a crawl. One day they may call in 2 people for a hearing and another 4 and on yet a third day, none at all. Given the number of people they supposedly have transferred to the border to deal with the crisis, this is absurd. These initial hearings are deliberately being slowed down in hopes people will just give up and go home. Likewise, the denial of basic needs to people being detained. The government would release them rapidly if they would simply sign a paper stating they have no legitimate claim for asylum. Border Patrol agents tell these people that regularly. Likewise, the separation of families is a deliberate terror tactic designed to scare off people and distract US media and public.
When that massive wave of unaccompanied minors hit the border when Obama was still President, he adopted a different tactic. He shifted a large number of immigration judges to the border to accomplish the initial hearings on asylum quickly. Those who qualified were admitted into the country, assigned hearing dates, and sent to live with family or sponsoring organizations. Obama also worked with the governments of the source countries to slow the flow. It worked.
Gay Veteran
These camps are disgusting. I’m willing to bet we’re only getting half the truth about the conditions. People tend to abuse power when unchecked.
enlightenone
The deplorables continue to cause needless human suffering and contributing to the deaths of people already in distress. God is watching!
Hussain-TheCanadian
Yup, definitely does not look like a cage (rolls eyes)
What’s next? Bombing the Iranians to bring them “democracy” and “freedom”?
SportGuy
The deplorables and the Republican s are responsible for these concentration camps.
seaguy
ICE is an agency with too much power and it has caused the agents to think they are above the law ad thus they pull crap like this. ICE needs to be disbanded and a new agency one with more accountability to the american taxpayers and one that can’t run around like the gestapo.
orbit5
Do not enter illegally. We need to take care of our own first, especially the homeless veterans. Our armed forces are the ones who made and are still making the worlds population want to live here. My son was slaughtered in Afghanistan to make the United States of America free to all Americans. He came home without a face, barely any lungs and was presented to us completely covered in gauze. Only because he loved our 50 states, the pledge of allegiance, and our beautiful flag and all that is stands for. If an illegal has to sleep on the cement for a little while, let them.
jcoberkrom
There is not excuse for the poor treatment these people get.
WWJD
Hussain-TheCanadian
It’s not illegal when refugees walk up to the American border and request asylum- perhaps you should research this topic more before trusting the talking points you’re spewing.
Juanjo
Sorry but I am not believing a single word of your false equivalency argument about your “wounded warrior”.
jcoberkrom
You know ICE knows they are doing something wrong when they don’t let the sun shine in.