Dem Lawmaker Claims Border Patrol Entered School Bus And Questioned Students: 'Rattled and Shaken'

A Democratic lawmaker from New Mexico claims his office received reports about U.S. Border Patrol agents getting on a school bus in the state, saying they "harassed" students as they headed to a swimming event.

Concretely, Rep. Gave Vasquez said that, according to the reports, agents went on the bus after stopping a driver at a checkpoint. "The situation escalated after agents questioned the driver, who was unable to respond in English. Rather than de-escalating, an agent proceeded to board the bus, ignored attempts by coaches to explain the situation, and demanded information from the students, leaving them rattled and shaken," Vasquez's office detailed. "Harassing and frightening children does not make New Mexico safer," his office added.

Customs and Border Protection gave its own version of the incident, saying that the bus had no school markings and that agents routinely inspect such vehicles to check whether passengers had legal status.

"They are instrumental in deterring illegal immigration and ensuring that those traveling away from the border comply with immigration laws. By conducting these inspections, Border Patrol agents help safeguard the security and well-being of communities throughout the United States," the CBP spokesperson said, according to Border Report.

Vasquez's office, however, said such reports go beyond that particular incident and that U.S. citizens have been "targeted simply because they speak Spanish or their appearance." The congressman is seeking "answers from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and calling for transparency regarding enforcement actions involving children, particularly on school buses and in other sensitive locations," his office said.

"Incidents like this, along with reports of harassment of Tribal members and other American citizens simply because they speak Spanish or have brown skin, are unacceptable," the office added.

Earlier this month U.S. Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks had said that accounts of agents boarding school buses in Texas were "absurd" and that school buses and children were not going to be targeted.

The claim came after , Alice ISD Superintendent Anysia Trevino wrote in a letter that agents were targeting school buses "to question students about their citizenship status," adding that if a student does not have identification or other documents that show their legal status, "they may be removed from the bus, detained and possibly deported."

Despite the claims, the school district removed the letter from its Facebook page and its website the following day, and posted another statement calling the letter a proactive move "out of an abundance of caution."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement emailed to Border Report that immigration officers do not target school buses, but if a bus travels through an immigration checkpoint, officers may verify the immigration status of its passengers, including students.