Border Patrol Accountability In Doubt On Abuse Complaints, Says New Analysis

Immigrant-advocacy group the American Immigration Council has released an analysis showing that the almost none of the abuse complaints filed against Border Patrol agents in recent years have resulted in suspension or other significant disciplinary action. Of 809 abuse complaints dating from January 2009 to January 2012, 40 percent had still not yet been resolved. Of the other 485 cases which were, no action was taken by authorities 97 percent of the time. Only 13 cases led to disciplinary action -- two of which led to court proceedings against the agent and only one of which resulted in the agent’s suspension.

The most common causes of complaints against agents, the Council found, were for “physical abuse” and “excessive use of force," which constituted 40 percent and 30 percent of allegations, respectively. The New York Times notes that in at least 60 complaints, agents or supervisors allegedly stomped or kicked detainees, even in some cases after they had been restrained. At least 45 cases contained allegations that agents struck them with objects. Another six accused agents of sexual abuse and 14 of improper searches or touching. The paper also recalls a March finding by a law-enforcement research group criticizing the agency for “lack of diligence” in investigating agents who may have violated use-of-force guidelines. The group found that Border Patrol agents had violated those guidelines in 67 cases leading to 19 deaths.

Over a third of the complaints came from the Tucson sector, the most trafficked part of the US-Mexico border, and the per-agent complaint rate was highest there too, followed by the Rio Grande Valley sector in Texas and the San Diego sector in California. These three, the Council writes, accounted for over 70 percent of all complaints in the period studied.