Abuses
The Dire State of Immigration Detention in Georgia
Recent deaths at immigration detention centers in Georgia have made one fact disturbingly clear: detainees’ rights are being violated, with life and death consequences. These tragedies are not isolated incidents, but rather part of an ongoing trend in Georgia’s immigration system that consistently violates basic human rights, disregards detention… Read More
By Eliminating the Polygraph Test, Corruption among Border Agencies Could Run Rampant
The House and Senate Homeland Security Committees took action this month on two nearly identical bills that seek to fast-track the hiring of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Officers and Agents by weakening CBP hiring standards. If passed, these bills would eliminate critical polygraph requirements that are widely used… Read More
Spike in Corruption Followed Last Hiring Surge at CBP and ICE
When President Trump signed three immigration executive orders in January of this year, much of the attention was focused on the travel ban and border wall. But within those orders is another proposal that is equally troubling: his call for hiring 5,000 additional Border Patrol agents and 10,000 additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. It is unclear if this growth in staffing is prudent given the last time the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) received a large infusion of new hires, cases of corruption and misconduct spiked in the agency. Read More
Why Caution is Needed Before Hiring Additional Border Patrol Agents and ICE Officers
The last time the Border Patrol received a large infusion of money to hire thousands of new agents, cases of corruption and misconduct spiked in the agency. New hires were not sufficiently vetted, novice agents were not adequately supervised, and agents who abused their authority acted with impunity. Now the… Read More
Ferino-Sanchez v. Sessions — Fourth Circuit
This amicus brief arguing that any Fourth Amendment violation by state and local law enforcement officers — not just egregious Fourth Amendments violations — should require the suppression of evidence in immigration court proceedings, which is the same standard that applies in the criminal justice arena. Read More
Supreme Court Hears Case on Shooting of Sergio Hernandez by U.S. Border Patrol Agent
Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—the federal agency which includes the Border Patrol—are rarely held accountable for their actions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the case of Sergio Hernandez, a 15-year-old boy shot dead in 2010 in Mexico by a Border Patrol agent who fired… Read More
The Ongoing Mishandling of Migrants’ Possessions by CBP and ICE
Each year, tens of thousands of individuals are deported from the United States to Mexico without their personal belongings—including their identifications, money, and cell phones, among other possessions. Both U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have a serious and longstanding problem with handling the… Read More
Deported with No Possessions
Too often, some or all of a detainee’s belongings are lost, destroyed, or stolen by the immigration-enforcement agents entrusted with their care. Read More
Judge Orders Border Patrol to Immediately Provide Short Term Detainees with Basic Necessities
A federal judge ordered the Border Patrol to immediately cease its practice of refusing to provide basic amenities to people detained in Border Patrol holding cells in Tucson, Arizona. The judge cited evidence that shows that detainees are kept in freezing holding cells—often called “hieleras” or “iceboxes” —for days… Read More
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