Against the backdrop of an unresolved and still unfolding family separation crisis, on Monday, President Trump’s White House will host a “celebration” of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents – law enforcement bodies notorious for corruption, rape, forgery, and abuse.
According to Frank Sharry, Executive Director of America’s Voice, “In the past week alone, agents have been charged with rape, sexual assault, strangulation, entrapment, and forced labor. Just curious: will any of these agents be at the White House pep rally on Monday?”
Here’s a sampling of the kinds of abuses and crimes committed by what are widely regarded as some of the worst law enforcement agencies in the nation (see this POLITICO piece, entitled, “The Green Monster, How the Border Patrol became America’s most out-of-control law enforcement agency.”)
- Committed inhumane human rights violations at ICE detention centers, with reports of physical beatings, pepper spray, racial slurs, “harsh and inhumane” denial of medical care, and sexual assault;
- Allegedly sexually assaulted a Central American asylum seeker for four months;
- Murdered an unarmed, undocumented woman and teenagers;
- Were investigated for alleged sexual assault in a “hazing” ritual that involved a “rape table;”
- Allegedly raped a woman twice, sexually assaulted another and warned them police wouldn’t believe them, given his law enforcement position, federal prosecutors alleged;
- Allegedly strangled a traveler;
- Seized $58,000 from a U.S. citizen for no reason;
- Detained Muhammad Ali Jr. at a Florida airport for nearly two hours, repeatedly asking him “are you Muslim?” and
- Denied parole for asylum seekers and needlessly held them in detention, even when they met release criteria.
Sharry added, “Instead of using ICE and Border Patrol agents as a backdrop for a midterm political rally, perhaps Trump, Nielsen and Stephen Miller should hold an emergency meeting with ICE and CBP to discuss how to immediately comply with the family reunification court order whose deadline passed three weeks ago.”
