“Officers who abuse women at home are not safe to carry guns in public,” as the report says. “Officers who prey on children are not safe to interact with communities”
Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s new update to its devastating report on criminal mass deportation agents was barely out for three days before it was already out of date, the organization said.
“On the morning of August 21, Louisiana ICE agent Thomas Bailey was arrested for ‘unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling’ after breaking into a former girlfriend’s apartment,” Ohio Immigrant Alliance said. The woman was not at home at the time of the break-in, which could result in up to six years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000 if Bailey is convicted on his charge of unauthorized entry of an inhabited dwelling, The Guardian reported.
ICE refused to comment on Bailey’s arrest, citing “the sensitive nature of these charges and pending litigation,” the outlet continued. “However, the statement said that ICE ‘stresses integrity and ethical behavior, and the vast majority of [agency] employees perform their duties with professionalism and honor.’”
The facts tell a different story.
UPDATED REPORT IDENTIFIES MORE THAN 150 ABUSIVE FEDERAL IMMIGRATION AGENTS
Ohio Immigrant Alliance’s “Worst of the Worst” update – a follow-up to its July report on the criminal behaviors of 59 ICE and CBP agents – has now identified more than 150 abusive agents, the vast majority of whom have been charged with or convicted of sex crimes, including against children.
“Of the 152 individuals included in this data, 131 (86.2%) were charged with or convicted of sex offenses, and 85 (55.9%) were charged with or convicted of crimes against children,” the report said. “A total of 78 individuals (51.3%) were charged with or convicted of sex crimes against children — the single largest category on the list.”
“Roughly 90% of these crimes were forms of gender-based and sexual violence — sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, and domestic violence — rooted in the same culture of power, entitlement, and misogyny,” the report continued. “The remaining 10% are mostly on-duty killings and excessive-force/civil-rights violations against immigrants or people believed to be immigrants.”
‘CBP: THE LARGEST SHARE OF THE PROBLEM’
While ICE frequently occupies the news headlines due to its horrific public displays of bloody violence within our communities, CBP in fact accounts for the largest share of the problem, as noted in the initial report. In the updated figures from Ohio Immigrant Alliance, CBP officers make up four-fifths of the 152 cases. In several instances cited in the follow-up, federal immigration officers repeatedly abused their positions of power in order to abuse migrants, including minors.
“Daniel Alfredo Spear, a CBP agent in California, sexually assaulted a woman and her daughter after arresting them in the course of his duties,” the report said. “Fernando Saucedo III assaulted two teenage sisters who were in CBP custody. Ramon Marquez exploited the Border Patrol Explorer Program — a youth activity he oversaw — to abuse a minor participant at his home, on trips, and even inside Border Patrol facilities. Shane Millan ordered women to expose themselves during border inspections, falsely telling them it was a lawful search.”
Two CBP officers named in the report, Rodolfo Zuniga and Keith Hook, misused official government resources to access child sexual abuse materials, the report said. A third CBP agent, Jay Bernard Gillilland, was sentenced to more than 6,000 years in prison after being convicted of sexual conduct with a minor, child molestation, sexual exploitation of a child, and child abuse.
A fourth CBP officer, Rodolfo Greene, misused government resources to stalk women. “Years later, he killed his wife and himself while a minor relative was at home.”
‘OFFICERS WHO ABUSE WOMEN AT HOME ARE NOT SAFE TO CARRY GUNS IN PUBLIC’
While ICE cited supposed sensitivity issues in refusing to discuss the details of the case around Thomas Bailey, the agent recently charged after breaking into his former girlfriend’s home, discussion around domestic violence carried out by mass deportation agents cannot be off-limits to public scrutiny when these same officers carry immense authority over members of the public, including children.
“Domestic violence, misogyny, and racism by officers are not personal problems,” the report said. “They are not private matters to be handled quietly within families or ignored by supervisors. They are red flags — indicators that an officer has a fundamental disregard for rules, authority, and social norms, and believes they can get away with breaking the law.”
“Officers who abuse women at home are not safe to carry guns in public,” the report continues. “Officers who prey on children are not safe to interact with communities. Officers who use their authority to coerce sex cannot be trusted to hold any authority at all.”
CONGRESS HANDED OUT MORE CASH INSTEAD OF SLAPPING ON RESTRICTIONS
But rather than use their oversight authority and power of the purse to hold abusive agents and practices accountable, Congressional Republicans this past summer shoveled another $70 billion in taxpayer dollars into ICE and CBP’s pockets – and with zero guardrails. Congressional Republicans also voted against an amendment that would have helped keep mass deportation agents accountable by requiring them to wear body cams.
Just weeks later, Texas dad Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed while on his way to work. Six days after Salgado Araujo’s July 7 death, ICE killed again, shooting Maine dad Johan Sebastián four times while he was also on his way to work. Following public outrage, ICE claimed it will ensure each “arrest team has an individual body camera.” However, the agency has since said footage will only be released in the agency’s “best interests.”
In other words, if the footage makes ICE look even worse than it already does, it’s never seeing the light of day. This isn’t accountability. It’s the continued protection of abusive and dangerous federal agents who pose a threat to communities everywhere no matter their legal immigration status.
‘THIS REPORT SHOWS WHY THESE ABUSES CANNOT BE DISMISSED AS THE ACTIONS OF A FEW’
“For generations, southern border communities have warned about a system where federal agents wield extraordinary power with little accountability,” said Southern Border Communities Coalition Director Lilian Serrano. “This report shows why these abuses cannot be dismissed as the actions of a few because in nearly half of the documented cases, agents’ offenses were directly connected to their official duties.”
“Whether we are talking about sexual violence, excessive force, abuse of power, or killings, the underlying question remains the same: who holds ICE and Border Patrol agents accountable when they cause harm or kill?” Serrano continued. “Agencies should not be left to investigate themselves. Communities deserve independent investigations and a system that protects our rights and dignity, rather than shielding abuse from accountability.”
